PeachyDoodle Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Summer's coming, and I usually put together a few fun day trips for our family and some of our friends to enjoy together. We love museums, but I'm always on the lookout for things that are a little bit different or unique. I thought it might be fun (and helpful) if we built a list of our favorite places to visit in a given area. Since I'm in NC, that's where I've focused this thread -- but I think it would be great to have other threads for other areas as well. You never know when you might get a chance to visit! So feel free to share your favorite day/field trips in North Carolina here -- post links if you've got 'em! Here are a few of ours (may add some more as I think of them): Greensboro Children's Museum, Greensboro Winston-Salem Children's Museum, Winston-Salem Greensboro Science Center, Greensboro Mrs. Hanes' Cookie Factory, Winston-Salem (free samples of 5 different cookies -- yum!!) Homeland Creamery, Julian NC Museum of History, Raleigh Discovery Place, Charlotte ArtQuest, Greensboro Old Salem, Winston-Salem Dan Nicholas Park, Salisbury Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 My parents are in Greensboro and the Science Center has come so far since when I was a kid... but you shouldn't forget the NC Zoo in Ashebroro, http://www.nczoo.org/ I also really like Guilford Courthouse, http://www.nps.gov/guco/index.htm. The video in the visitor's center is great. Roll the battleground and the Greensboro Science Center into one trip or do them separately, either way is great. Durham's Museum of Life and Science, http://lifeandscience.org/, is nice. I haven't been for well over a decade, but it had a nice selection of NASA artifacts and a butterfly house. Roll that in with a trip to Duke Gardens and you have a great daytrip. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 The Lemur Center at Duke! It's expensive to do the tour, but it's so good. I keep meaning to visit the big cat center when I'm in NC some time. Is it in Mebane? There's a lot out west as well or good things at the coast, but not sure what your range is... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeachyDoodle Posted April 15, 2015 Author Share Posted April 15, 2015 Oh, the Asheboro zoo is a classic, of course! Can't forget that one! Carolina Tiger Rescue is in Pittsboro -- is that what you're thinking of? We will probably venture to that one at some point, but ds4 is in a tiger-phobia stage, so maybe not this year, lol! I'm thinking anywhere in the state -- or even somewhat into VA/SC/TN would be okay. Even if it's too far for us, it might come in handy for somebody else. And we travel across the state fairly frequently. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 It is not worthy of a day trip, but if you find yourself in Chapel Hill for other reasons... the Ackland is a great free art museum, http://ackland.org/Small but very well curated. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 The Outer Banks, of course. Not sure if that's a "day trip" from where you are, though. :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 OBX: visit the Wright Brothers Memorial climb Jockey's Ridge watch The Lost Colony outdoor drama (seasonal) Visit the Elizabethan Gardens and Aquarium in Manteo Chapel Hill - the Planetarium has fun shows. We recently saw the Magic Tree House show and it was a big hit, here. New Bern - Tryon Palace & NC History Center 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 There's a fancy, British (?) tea house in the North Raleigh area... ETA: it's called the Olde English Tea Room. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Durham's Museum of Life and Science, http://lifeandscience.org/, is nice. I haven't been for well over a decade, but it had a nice selection of NASA artifacts and a butterfly house. Roll that in with a trip to Duke Gardens and you have a great daytrip. We've been recently and it really is excellent. You really can spend an entire day there -- lots & lots to do now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 OBX: visit the Wright Brothers Memorial climb Jockey's Ridge watch The Lost Colony outdoor drama (seasonal) Visit the Elizabethan Gardens and Aquarium in Manteo Chapel Hill - the Planetarium has fun shows. We recently saw the Magic Tree House show and it was a big hit, here. New Bern - Tryon Palace & NC History Center And there are four lighthouses: Corolla, Body Island, Hatteras, and Ocracoke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cascadia Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I keep meaning to visit the big cat center when I'm in NC some time. Is it in Mebane? The Conservators Center is in Caswell County, just north of Burlington/Elon. From their website: Where is the Conservators Center? Although the Postal Service gave us a Burlington address, and our PO Box is in Mebane, we are proud to be located in rural Caswell County, NC. I haven't visited it, but it sounds interesting. (Local, unverified gossip: apparently one of their animals got out, and warnings were sent out to Caswell and Alamance county residents. We heard this at the beginning of our house-hunting here, and decided to focus on houses closer in to town! :svengo: ) Duke Gardens was mentioned above - they have nice programs for schools and homeschoolers. My kids have really enjoyed them. They also do summer camps. The Museum of Life + Science in Durham is about to open a new play area/exhibit that looks like it will be fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 My parents took the kids to Sylvan Heights Bird Park, and they all had a good time. http://shwpark.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALB Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 The science museum in Raleigh is great, too. They have Meet the Animal days when they bring out some unique critters to look at and touch. My kids petted hissing cockroaches one day! In Charlotte, there is this super cool Raptor Center. My kids LOVED it. It's mostly outdoors, so something nice to do in spring or fall. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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