The N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher will celebrate "Take a Child Outside Week" (Sept. 24-30) with a variety of outdoor programs for adults and children, starting on Monday, Sept. 24 with the Fort Fisher Hermit Program from 4-7:30 p.m. For all the details on this and other programs during the week, visit the website.

The Museum of Coastal Carolina, Ocean Isle Beach, will also offer ideas and information as part of Take a Child Outside Week -- packets will be available for pickup at the Museum on September 20 and 21; also, the Museum parking lot will be the registration site for the Ocean Isle Annual Trash Bash on September 29 -- sign in between 9:30 and 10 a.m., and there are hot dogs and t-shirts after the Bash for registered participants.

The Arts Center at the Imperial Centre, Rocky Mount, is accepted registrations now for the Nov. 10-11 "Image Transfer Techniques and Alternative Firing" workshop by Paul Wandless (fee: $200). Call 252-972-1163 for details.

The Pastime in the Park demonstration at High Point Museum for September 29 and 30 will be Blacksmithing.

The Hickory Museum of Art will host its free "Art and the Animal: The Society of Animal Artists' 46th Annual Exhibition" Family Fun Day on Saturday, Sept. 22 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Port Discover, Elizabeth City, will participate in Take A Child Outside Week with an afterschool nature walk on Thursday, Sept. 27 at 4 p.m. Call the museum for a reservation (252-338-6117). Toddler Time at Port Discover for September 20th is "The Beauty of Rainbows."

The Museum of Anthropology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem will open its new permanent exhibit, "Face to Face: The Arts of Exchange in Mainland Papua New Guinea" today, Friday, September 14. The annual "Dias de los Muertos" exhibit will be up from Sept. 18-Dec. 14; Family Day is from 1-4 p.m. on October 20th; and lectures are scheduled for October 26 at 3 p.m. and November 8th at 7:30 p.m. (see website for details.)

The Ackland Art Museum, UNC, Chapel Hill, will have a public opening for "The Art of Looking: Submissions from the Collection of Charles Millard" from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 30, followed at 3 by a "debate among experts considering collecting." Meanwhile, opening on September 14th: "The Healing Arts: Sickness and Social Impact" and "Enlightened Patronage: Art in Service to Humanity." Art After Dark is also tonight from 5-8:30 p.m.

North Carolina's original copy of the Bill of Rights continues its tour of the state with stops in Charlotte (October); Asheville in November; and Greensboro in December.

The McColl Center for Visual Art and the Mint Museum of Craft + Design will team up on Saturday, October 20 from 10 to 5 to literally link the two museums with "Threads of the Community," a free event -- RSVPs are requested, and participants must bring certain items with them.

Some attendees of the spring NCMC Annual Conference will recall Hart Square and the personal tour of this intriguing collection of era buildings, located south of Hickory. Hart Square is preparing for its annual opening to the public on the fourth Saturday of October (October 27 in 2007). Tickets ($25) go on sale Monday, October 1, at the Catawba County Museum of History. They can be purchased in person, or over the phone with a credit card by calling 828-465-0383. Groups of 15 or more may call ahead at 828-322-2990. The event occurs rain or shine; walkin' shoes are recommended. For further information, including a photo gallery, visit http://www.catawbahistory.org/.

The Appalachian State University Department of Art will host "Print Dialogue Days" on October 5 and 6. Details on the schedule and various events can be found at http://www.art.appstate.edu/ or contact April Flanders (828-262-7270 or flandersav@appstate.edu).

The New Bern Historical Society will hold its 17th annual New Bern at Night Ghostwalk on October 25 and 26 -- advance tickets are available; check the website for details, times and related activities.

Greensboro Historical Museum will present a lecture by Dr. Bryant Simon, Temple University, on "Consuming Starbucks." The event, at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 30th, is free but seating is limited; call 336-373-2043 to make reservations.

"Fiberart INTERNATIONAL 2007" opens September 15 and remains through February 24, 2008 at the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte.

"Guest Talk: Wild Music, Great Ideas" is at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 20th at the Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, and the opening for "Janine Antoni: Falk Visiting Artist" will be Sunday, Sept. 23. The exhibit runs through December 23.

At the N.C. Museum of History, Raleigh, upcoming programs include "North Carolina and World War II" from 9-5 on Thursday, Sept. 20th, and Family Day, "Remembering World War II: North Carolinians at Home and Abroad" from 11-4 on Saturday, Sept. 29.

"Live! At the Arsenal" will be from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 23 at the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex, Fayetteville.

From 2-4 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 27, Ralph Scott will present "The Wilmington Shipyard: Welding a Fleet for Victory in World War II" at the N.C. Maritime Museum, Beaufort.

The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh will present "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" as part of its First Friday program on Friday, October 5 (from 5-9 p.m., film at 7 p.m.) The Museum's free "Chemistry Day" is set for Saturday, Oct. 20 from 10-4. Also, the Museum's Science Cafe on "Privacy and Internet Security" is Tuesday, September 25 at 6:30 p.m., and "Burrowing Dinosaurs" is at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29th.

Bellamy Mansion, Wilmington, will host "African-American Life in Wilmington: From the Revolution to the End of the Nineteenth Century," taught by Greg Zugrave, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 over four classes, October 10 to 31. Fee is $49; registration is due by September 26th -- call 910-962-3195.

The Museum of the Albemarle, Elizabeth City will open "Ansel Adams in the East: Cruising the Inland Waterway" on September 15; the exhibit remains through December 2. Exhibit Curator Stephen B. Jareckie will give a gallery talk at 7 p.m. on October 11.

The Cameron Art Museum will host "Broadway: The American Musical," a film, at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 21, and "The Man Who Came to Dinner" at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 23. Both programs are admission by donation. An Architecture Lecture with Randy Brown starts at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 28th.