In this museum’s park, explorers young and old dig through fossil pits in search of the big one — a megalodon tooth, our official state fossil — as well as other shark teeth and marine fossils.
400 Main Street
Aurora, NC 27806
(252) 322-4238
aurorafossilmuseum.org
At Marbles Kids Museum’s Ready, Set, Vet exhibit, plush patients get the care they need. Photography courtesy of MARBLES KIDS MUSEUM
Kids wear lab coats and, with the aid of stethoscopes, X-rays, exam tables, and imaging stations, diagnose and treat a menagerie of plush stuffed animals at this exhibit, which was designed in partnership with the nearby North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine.
201 East Hargett Street
Raleigh, NC 27601
(919) 834-4040
marbleskidsmuseum.org
At this historic site, which commemorates the beginning of forest conservation in the United States, climb into the fuselage of a UH-1 Huey Forest Service helicopter, and take flight during a realistic simulation. Guided by pilots and flat-screen projection, visitors will learn about forest fires in the southern Appalachian Mountains
11250 Pisgah Highway
Pisgah Forest, NC 28768
(828) 877-3130
In the lobby of this museum — the only education center in the state that interprets the science of estuaries — a giant, interactive driftwood sculpture, completed in 1998 by former public school art teacher and artist Whiting Toler, conceptually shows how the water cycle works.
223 East Water Street
Washington, NC 27889
(252) 948-0000
facebook.com/ncestuarium
Let off some steam: Take a 25-minute train ride around the site once home to Southern Railway’s largest steam locomotive repair facility in the Southeast.
1 Samuel Spencer Drive
Spencer, NC 28159
(704) 636-2889
nctrans.org
The 84-acre Museum of Life & Science in Durham is filled with science and nature exhibits and interactive experiences, like the Treehouse Village play zone. Photography courtesy of VISITNC.COM, MUSEUM OF LIFE & SCIENCE
See red wolves Niko (above) and Oak in their naturalistic habitat at this museum, which is part of a nationwide program to rebuild the critically endangered species — once common in North Carolina but now only found in the wild on the Albemarle Peninsula. Since 1993, 23 red wolf pups have been born at the museum.
433 West Murray Avenue
Durham, NC 27704
(919) 220-5429
lifeandscience.org
Find this collection of fun spots — plus, 250+ more family-friendly destinations — in our most recent collectors’ issue, North Carolina Field Trips, on newsstands now!
North Carolina is known for many things, but nothing more important this week than the qualities of endurance, resilience, and hope.
By day, this adventure park in the Triad is a fall festival to die for. By night, the undead come alive for Halloween tricks. Welcome to one man’s vision of year-round merrymaking.
North Carolina’s border dances across the mountains as it traces four different states. Life here can be more remote, but good neighbors are never far away.
The Blue Ridge Parkway stands out among America’s national parks: Unfurling across six Appalachian mountain chains, it connects dozens of rural communities and binds together generations of families through shared memories.
