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.
See also: List of nature centers in the United States.
| Name | Location | County | Region | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agapé Center for Environmental Education | website, 624 acres, experiential learning about the environment for groups | |||
| 67 acres, formal gardens with environmental education programs for youth and adults | ||||
| Eastern | Visitor center with exhibits about the ecosystem of the refuge, conservation, education programs | |||
| Annie Louise Wilkerson Nature Preserve | Wake | Triangle | website, 156 acres, operated by the City | |
| Eastern | Family adventure programs, summer camps, nature tours, turtle walks | |||
| Balsam Mountain Preserve | 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 | 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 | website, almost 200 acres, research based educational experiences for schools and groups, summer camp | |||
| Blue Jay Point County Park | Wake | Triangle | website, 236 acres, operated by the County | |
| Blue Planet Water Environmental Center | website, hands-on educational center about water and wastewater, operated by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities | |||
| New Hanover | Eastern | 761 acres, visitor center exhibits about the park's carnivorous plants | ||
| Mecklenburg | Charlotte area | website, raptor rehabilitation center with exhibits | ||
| Centennial Campus Center for Wildlife Education | 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 | Eastern | website, 72 acres, operated by the City | ||
| 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 | website, 1,700 acres of forestland along the Neuse River, programs on forests and forestry, operated by Weyerhaeuser, requires appointment | |||
| Crowder District Park | Wake | Triangle | website, 33 acres, operated by the County | |
| Dan Nicholas Park | Charlotte area | website, operated by the County, park with wildlife, nature center, carousel, water park, small farm with animals, other family attractions | ||
| 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 | website, 384 acres | |||
| Frank Sharpe Jr. Wildlife Education Center | website, operated in 250-acre Bur-Mil Park | |||
| Eastern | 1,327 acres, includes environmental education and visitor center with exhibits, a wet lab | |||
| Western | 2,456 acres, part preserve and part state park, features nature museum, naturalist programs | |||
| 7,049 acres, visitor center features hands-on exhibits about plants and animals, video, programs | ||||
| Highlands Nature Center | Western | website, open seasonally, exhibits about the biodiversity of the southern Appalachian region, operated by the Highlands Biological Foundation | ||
| Howell Woods | Johnston | Eastern | website, 2,800 acre environmental learning center operated by Johnston Community College | |
| Science museum and 15 acre environmental park | ||||
| 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 | Mecklenburg | Charlotte area | website, 1,351 acres, operated by the County | |
| Lee Park Nature Center | Eastern | website, 177 acres, operated by the County | ||
| McDowell Nature Center and Preserve | Mecklenburg | Charlotte area | website, 1,107 acres, operated by the County | |
| Brunswick | Eastern | Natural history museum with dioramas and exhibits about the natural science, environment, and cultural history of the coastal region of the Carolinas | ||
| 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 | ||||
| Eastern | 55 acres, includes touch tank, live native animals, Lenoir Memorial Hospital Health & Science Museum, planetarium and campgrounds | |||
| Western | 434 acres, arboretum and botanical garden, 10 miles of hiking and biking trails, youth and adult nature programs | |||
| North Carolina Estuarium | 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 | Brunswick | Eastern | information, operated by the Town, open seasonally | |
| Onslow County Environmental Education Center & Sneads Ferry Branch Library | Eastern | website, display of county ecology, geography, flora, and fauna inside the branch library | ||
| Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education | 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 | website, 376 acres, operated by the City, 11 miles of trails | |||
| Located at 82-acre Leigh Farm Park | ||||
| Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education | Western | website, located in Pisgah National Forest, operated by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, features trout hatchery | ||
| Raleigh | Wake | Triangle | 45 acres, operated by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences | |
| Charlotte | Mecklenburg | Charlotte area | 737 acres, operated by the County, over 10 miles of trails, features live, native animals, an exhibit hall, a classroom | |
| Wake | Triangle | 140 acres, operated by the Town | ||
| Sturgeon City | Eastern | website, restored wetlands around a former wastewater treatment plant, environmental and science programs | ||
| website, 18-acre park features aviaries displaying birds from around the work, gardens, education about waterfowl, wildlife and wetland conservation | ||||
| A Time for Science | 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 | Eastern | Natural history of the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge | ||
| Walter L. Stasavich Science and Nature Center | Eastern | website, operated by the City in 324-acre River Park North | ||
| Western | Operated by the City, 40-acre zoological park with animals and plants native to the Southern Appalachian region | |||
| 898 acres, state park and preserve with natural history museum and environmental education programs | ||||
| Raleigh | Wake | Triangle | 5,439 acres, visitor center exhibits, education programs | |
| White Deer Park and Nature Center | Wake | Triangle | website, 96 acres, operated by the Town | |