List of nature centers in North Carolina
This is a list of nature centers and environmental education centers in the state of North Carolina.
To use the sortable tables: click on the icons at the top of each column to sort that column in alphabetical order; click again for reverse alphabetical order.
| Name | Location | County | Region | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agapé Center for Environmental Education | Fuquay-Varina | Wake | Triangle | website, 624 acres, experiential learning about the environment for groups |
| Airlie Gardens | Wilmington | New Hanover | Eastern | 67 acres, formal gardens with environmental education programs for youth and adults |
| Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge | Manteo | Dare | Eastern | Visitor center with exhibits about the ecosystem of the refuge, conservation, education programs |
| Annie Louise Wilkerson Nature Preserve | Raleigh | Wake | Triangle | website, 156 acres, operated by the City |
| Bald Head Island Conservancy | Bald Head Island | Brunswick | Eastern | Family adventure programs, summer camps, nature tours, turtle walks |
| Balsam Mountain Preserve | Sylva | Jackson | website, operated by the Balsam Mountain Trust, about 4,400 acres, nature center includes live animals, general public must have confirmed reservations to visit | |
| Bass Lake Park | Holly Springs | Wake | Triangle | website, park features 100-acre lake stocked for fishing, nature center with native animal exhibits, operated by the City |
| Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Educational Center | Reidsville | Rockingham | website, almost 200 acres, research based educational experiences for schools and groups, summer camp | |
| Blue Jay Point County Park | Raleigh | Wake | Triangle | website, 236 acres, operated by the County |
| Blue Planet Water Environmental Center | Huntersville | Mecklenburg | Charlotte area | website, hands-on educational center about water and wastewater, operated by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities |
| Carolina Beach State Park | Carolina Beach | New Hanover | Eastern | 761 acres, visitor center exhibits about the park's carnivorous plants |
| Carolina Raptor Center | Charlotte | Mecklenburg | Charlotte area | website, raptor rehabilitation center with exhibits |
| Centennial Campus Center for Wildlife Education | Raleigh | Wake | Triangle | website, headquarters of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, features wetland exhibits and overlook, exhibits about wildlife conservation in North Carolina |
| Clark Park Nature Center | Fayetteville | Cumberland | Eastern | website, 72 acres, operated by the City |
| Clemmons Educational State Forest | Clayton | Johnston | Eastern | Features Forestry Exhibit Center with interactive exhibits about the ecology of forests, soil, water, wildlife and the state's cultural history |
| Cool Springs Environmental Education Center | New Bern | Craven | website, 1,700 acres of forestland along the Neuse River, programs on forests and forestry, operated by Weyerhaeuser, requires appointment | |
| Crowder District Park | Apex | Wake | Triangle | website, 33 acres, operated by the County |
| Dan Nicholas Park | Salisbury | Rowan | Charlotte area | website, operated by the County, park with wildlife, nature center, carousel, water park, small farm with animals, other family attractions |
| Discovery Place Nature | Charlotte | Mecklenburg | Charlotte area | Interactive nature exhibits and live animal displays of the Piedmont region, adjacent to 98-acre Freedom Park, operated by Discovery Place |
| Foothills Equestrian Nature Center | Tryon | Polk | Western | website, 384 acres |
| Frank Sharpe Jr. Wildlife Education Center | Greensboro | Guilford | Piedmont Triad | website, operated in 250-acre Bur-Mil Park |
| Goose Creek State Park | Washington | Beaufort | Eastern | 1,327 acres, includes environmental education and visitor center with exhibits, a wet lab |
| Grandfather Mountain | Linville | Avery | Western | 2,456 acres, part preserve and part state park, features nature museum, naturalist programs |
| Hanging Rock State Park | Danbury | Stokes | Piedmont Triad | 7,049 acres, visitor center features hands-on exhibits about plants and animals, video, programs |
| Highlands Nature Center | Highlands | Macon | Western | website, open seasonally, exhibits about the biodiversity of the southern Appalachian region, operated by the Highlands Biological Foundation |
| Howell Woods | Four Oaks | Johnston | Eastern | website, 2,800 acre environmental learning center operated by Johnston Community College |
| Kaleideum North | Winston-Salem | Forsyth | Science museum and 15 acre environmental park | |
| Kerr Lake State Recreation Area | Henderson | Vance | Triangle | 50,000-acre man-made lake, Satterwhite Point visitor's center features an exhibit hall, programs, also W. Kerr Scott Lake’s Environmental Education Center |
| Latta Plantation Nature Center and Preserve | Huntersville | Mecklenburg | Charlotte area | website, 1,351 acres, operated by the County |
| Lee Park Nature Center | Sanford | Lee | Eastern | website, 177 acres, operated by the County |
| McDowell Nature Center and Preserve | Charlotte | Mecklenburg | Charlotte area | website, 1,107 acres, operated by the County |
| Museum of Coastal Carolina | Ocean Isle Beach | Brunswick | Eastern | Natural history museum with dioramas and exhibits about the natural science, environment, and cultural history of the coastal region of the Carolinas |
| Museum of Life and Science | Durham | Durham | Triangle | 84 acres, natural history and science museum with insectarium and live animals, 6 acres wetland with boardwalk and live native animals, a farmyard, railroad and more |
| Neuseway Nature Center and Planetarium | Kinston | Lenoir | Eastern | 55 acres, includes touch tank, live native animals, Lenoir Memorial Hospital Health & Science Museum, planetarium and campgrounds |
| North Carolina Arboretum | Asheville | Buncombe | Western | 434 acres, arboretum and botanical garden, 10 miles of hiking and biking trails, youth and adult nature programs |
| North Carolina Estuarium | Washington | Beaufort | Eastern | website, operated by the Partnership for the Sounds, ecology of North Carolina's estuaries, especially the Pamlico River, Tar River and Pamlico Sound |
| Oak Island Nature Center | Oak Island | Brunswick | Eastern | information, operated by the Town, open seasonally |
| Onslow County Environmental Education Center & Sneads Ferry Branch Library | Sneads Ferry | Onslow | Eastern | website, display of county ecology, geography, flora, and fauna inside the branch library |
| Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education | Corolla | Currituck | Eastern | website, operated by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, located in Currituck Heritage Park, natural and cultural history of northeastern North Carolina, features aquarium, waterfowl decoy gallery |
| Piedmont Environmental Center | High Point | Guilford | Piedmont Triad | website, 376 acres, operated by the City, 11 miles of trails |
| Piedmont Wildlife Center | Durham | Durham | Triangle | Located at 82-acre Leigh Farm Park |
| Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education | Pisgah Forest | Transylvania | Western | website, located in Pisgah National Forest, operated by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, features trout hatchery |
| Prairie Ridge Ecostation | Raleigh | Wake | Triangle | 45 acres, operated by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences |
Reedy Creek Nature Center and Preserve |
Charlotte | Mecklenburg | Charlotte area | 737 acres, operated by the County, over 10 miles of trails, features live, native animals, an exhibit hall, a classroom |
| Stevens Nature Center at Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve | Cary | Wake | Triangle | 140 acres, operated by the Town |
| Sturgeon City | Jacksonville | Onslow | Eastern | website, restored wetlands around a former wastewater treatment plant, environmental and science programs |
| Sylvan Heights Bird Park | Scotland Neck | Halifax | website, 18-acre park features aviaries displaying birds from around the work, gardens, education about waterfowl, wildlife and wetland conservation | |
| A Time for Science | Grifton | Pitt | Eastern | website, nature and science learning center located at the 200-acre Bray Hollow Conservancy |
| Walnut Creek Wetland Center | Raleigh | Wake | Triangle | website, 59 acres, operated by the City |
| Walter B Jones, Sr. Center for The Sounds | Columbia | Tyrrell | Eastern | Natural history of the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge |
| Walter L. Stasavich Science and Nature Center | Greenville | Pitt | Eastern | website, operated by the City in 324-acre River Park North |
| Western North Carolina Nature Center | Asheville | Buncombe | Western | Operated by the City, 40-acre zoological park with animals and plants native to the Southern Appalachian region |
| Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve | Southern Pines | Moore | Sandhills | 898 acres, state park and preserve with natural history museum and environmental education programs |
| William B. Umstead State Park | Raleigh | Wake | Triangle | 5,439 acres, visitor center exhibits, education programs |
| White Deer Park and Nature Center | Garner | Wake | Triangle | website, 96 acres, operated by the Town |