Science & Technology

A training center opens in Raleigh this afternoon to highlight the latest uses for propane. North Carolina is the second largest user of the fuel behind California. John Jessup is the executive director of the North Carolina Propane Gas Association. He says propane burns cleaner and is cheaper than gasoline and diesel. He also says the natural gas boom is behind the boost in the propane supply.

That's the sound of a penny rolling round and round in a device called a gravity funnel. This was recorded at the Natural Science Center in Greensboro using WUNC's Make Radio iPhone app. It's part of a collaboration with the North Carolina Science Festival. You've likely seen this game, the coin launches from the top of a big round funnel and then spins, on edge, down to the collection jar underneath the hole at the bottom of the cone.

The Nature Research Center is now officially open. The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences held a grand opening for the new wing over the weekend.

Dave DeWitt: About 70,000 people attended the 24-hour grand opening of the Nature Research Center. Those who made it inside the 80,000 square foot facility touched animal skeletons, conducted robotic surgeries, and interacted with scientists.