Having our wedding at the Museum of Natural Sciences was a great experience. Not only was the venue amazing and interesting for our guests, but the Special Events Team were very helpful in making our day special. They were responsive to all our questions and were flexible to changes in our rental plans. Their pricing was also very accessible to weddings on a budget. Sydney and Blair were extremely easy to work with and we would highly recommend considering the museum as a venue for any special event. They have so many space options for any event size.

The Museum of Natural Sciences was the perfect choice for our wedding reception! The space was warm, inviting and beautiful which also meant we only needed minimal decorations. The Nature Research Center was ample space for our 130 guests, 14 round tables, buffet, waffle bar station, and much more. The marble staircase made it possible for the wedding party to make a grand entrance. The Daily Planet provided the most incredible dance floor with soft blue hues highlighting the walls behind the space set up for a DJ. Guests were able to dance, observe from the upper levels, meander through the museum exhibits and mingle with friends. It was a pleasure working with Sydney, we couldn't have asked for a better experience or a better venue.

The Museum of Natural Sciences was an amazing place to hold our wedding ceremony and reception. They were able to accommodate all of our requests and were very helpful from the initial tour all the way through the end of our reception. Communication was excellent, and the all of the staff members were courteous and professional. Highly recommend!

Wow, what an amazing venue for our daughter's wedding reception! We had planned to have the wedding near our home in Wake Forest, but when my daughter and her fiancé toured the NC Museum of Natural Sciences they were hooked. She's an archaeologist and he's a teacher, so it suited them perfectly. It was also the least expensive of all the venues we looked at. They chose to have it in the Nature Exploration Center (dino dome, not planet) which was amazing. We used The Great Raleigh Trolley to shuttle the guests from the hotel to the reception and back which I highly recommend! The night started with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres on the 2nd floor as well as all the first dances and toasts. Guests enjoyed exploring all the exhibits. Then we all went to the 3rd floor for a buffet dinner and dancing with the dinosaurs. Although I was worried about the layout, it worked out great. There's nothing like dancing with pterodactyls flying above you! We had a wide range of ages that attended, fro... Read morem infants to elderly. All were very happy. Because of the layout, tables could have conversations without screaming and others could be getting crazy on the dance floor. We had 145 guests and the space was perfect. Rocky Top is the sole caterer for the museum and they were fantastic. The food was absolutely delicious and service was excellent. Petal and Oak did all our centerpieces and flowers, they were outstanding! The pies came from East Durham Bakeshop and were delish!! In hindsight, I wish I would have hired some teenagers to chase the little ones around while they explored, just to give the parents more time to visit. Aside from that, it was fantastic and so many guests said it was the most fun they've had at a reception! Thank you Sydney Bannerman for all you did to make the evening so memorable!

This venue was amazing! My guest loved every moment of the reception. The caterers Rocky Top were friendly and the good was perfection. The service was excellent. We could not have asked for a better Venue!

My husband and I held our wedding reception (10/14/2017) on the 1st floor of the Research Center of the Museum. The museum contacts were great - responsive to emails and knowledgeable. The museum was very affordable and we loved that the globe was the dance floor and the giant whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling - it was a huge hit with our guests and made for great pictures. As the research center side is more open (than the regular museum), it provided great flow for the tables and seating - guests were able to see us and the people giving speeches. Would recommend the museum for future events!

Perfect venue for an affordable wedding! Great people who work with you, and they are very responsive and helpful. :)

I am the mother-of-the-bride, and my daughter and son-in-law wanted something really different and unique for their wedding, and I wanted to make sure that the guests had a good time and were entertained the whole evening. We ended up having a costume wedding at the museum, and I think family and friends will be talking about how much fun they had for a long time. Even when the bridal party was off with the photographer, the guests could have a drink and walk around looking at the exhibits. The museum staff (and the caterers from Rocky Top Catering) are all awesome and worked with us, even when we threw them some "curve balls". We have a wonderful, lasting memory which includes dancing beside dinosaurs and dining near beautiful North Carolina nature exhibits. I definitely recommend this venue for weddings.

Loved having our wedding reception here. It not only was a unique experience, but it also was not that expensive. It honestly was the best/lowest priced venue that we had looked at in the area. Best part is you don't really have to decorate because the museum speaks for itself. Staff was extremely friendly from the tour to pick a floor(s) all the way through the actual event day. Communication was good with email check in's leading up to the event. Booking the museum was easy and any questions we had were answered in a timely manner. The only con that some people may feel is that you have to use their preferred caterer who is Rocky Top. This was not an issue for my husband and I, as we absolutely love Rocky Top's food and planned on using them before we started looking at venues. The plus side is you do not have to worry about them booking up, because as a part of the contract they have to be available. (This is an update to what we previously wrote. We are still happy with the museu... Read morem, but are not entirely thrilled with the amount of time it took for them to cash our check. It took them over 90 days to cash in our check, so be aware that they seem to can take a long time to actually cash it in. Unfortunately we thought it had been cashed awhile ago with the rest of the wedding stuff so it was a bit of a shock when we saw it.)

My ceremony took place on the 4th floor of the new Nature Research Center and the reception was on the 3rd floor of the museum (the dinosaur floor). Being scientists ourselves, this was the perfect place for my husband and I to marry. Everyone behind the scenes there made the day exceedingly perfect and I couldn't have asked for a better venue! Many of our guests even came early to explore and absolutely loved it! One of the best parts (for me) was that there was hardly any "decorating" that had to occur since you are already in a museum with amazing exhibits all around you!

Stephanie was a pleasure to work with. She was extremely helpful and made time to meet and discuss the event on several occasions.

Our wedding reception was beautiful and we had so many compliments on the venue!

The Research Center at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences was a phenomenal place for our wedding! We had the 4th floor for the ceremony and cocktail hour and the 1st floor for the dinner reception and dancing. The venue is beautiful with the marvelous exhibits surrounding us while we got married, took pictures, ate and danced. Our guests were blown away by this museum and were making plans to return so they can take time to see it all. The building has a feeling of spaciousness but also intimate at the same time. The conference room made a perfect ceremony space. We added lighting to soften the room and with the chuppah the space had a warm and cozy feel to it. The 4th floor terrace was lovely with the great view from above and the floor to ceiling windows made it all light and open. The first floor was for dinner and dancing. The DJ set up in the theater-that was fabulous! And we had a photo slide show that played while we danced. The wedding party made an entrance down the big stai... Read morers-that looked great! And the tables were spread throughout the exhibits which were a fun backdrop for the party. Our guests said it was the absolute best place they had been for a wedding. We could not agree more! Sydney and her staff were wonderful to work with.

A fabulous, unique venue for our wedding. Guests enjoyed looking through the exhibits and walking around the museum, especially during cocktail hour (which we held on the 2nd floor). Tables fit nicely in the space, and we were able to seat 180 guests for a seated, plated dinner (with a bit of room to spare) on the third floor. There were some restrictions regarding amplified music - the dance floor had to be in a specific room, but it worked out quite well. It was nice for older guests - they could stay at their tables away from the loud music while the younger guests enjoyed the dance area (which was connected to the dinner area, but slightly separated - not the traditional tables-around-dance-floor setup). The perfect venue if you want a casual, memorable, fun event. The feedback we got most was "fun" - and the location downtown can't be beat - we took photos at the Capitol, and took a rickshaw back to the hotel after a sparkler exit on the plaza - guests were able to walk to ni... Read moreghtlife following the reception. Stephanie was very helpful and responsive to all of our questions. Very affordable, and you can bring your own caterer, which is cost-effective, and gives you more control/options with the food and beverage.