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 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
References North Carolina Environmental Education
External links Map of nature centers and environmental education centers in North Carolina