Groundhog Day in Raleigh, NC

In Raleigh, North Carolina, the snow has been on the ground all weekend, keeping children out of school these past couple of days. As a result, Groundhog Day was met with an unusual amount of hope. Everyone is ready for the winter to be over and spring to be on its way. At the Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh, Groundhog Day events were held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., February 2, 2010. This museum is located off West Jones Street in downtown Raleigh and regularly hosts events related to holidays that may have something to do with nature and the environment.

As part of these events, an educational series focusing on animals in winter were held. These stations included discussions of how to predict that spring is on its way and how various types of animals can survive the winter. Specifically, reptiles and arthropods were discussed, as well as mammals and other species. Groundhog Day was certainly mentioned, but was only a portion of the day's events and sessions. Live animals were featured in a number of the festivities. Additionally, at 11 a.m., a special program discussing meteorology and whether animals can be good predictors of the weather was held. This program also featured an experiment demonstrating atmospheric strength. Since area schools were closed for snow and many roads were considered too dangerous, educators were encouraged to allow students to participate in this learning event by turning in weather-related book reports to the museum.

At noon, Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker hosted the ceremony with Raleigh's own groundhog as main guest. Raleigh Groundhog Day focuses on Sir Walter Wally. In an unprecedented turn, the ceremony was actually held indoors. Sir Walter Wally peeked out just long enough to check on his shadow, and predicted that winter would soon be over.

However, the grand marshal of Groundhog Day events, Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania, disagreed, believing that there will be six more weeks of winter.