From the mountains to the coast, 58 institutions across the state have been awarded a total of $2.4 million in grants as part of the North Carolina Science Museums Grant Program. The program is one of the many ways that the State of North Carolina invests in sustaining and advancing one of the most diverse and widespread networks of science museums in the country. Grants were awarded based on criteria that promote the priorities of state government, with a primary goal of enhancing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education opportunities for the public, particularly in low-resource communities. In our area Avery County will receive $60,000 for the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery at Grandfather Mountain.
“The North Carolina Science Museums Grant Program helps fund critical science education in all parts of our state,” said Pamela B. Cashwell, secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR). “These grants will increase access to STEM experiences no matter where you live in North Carolina.”
The awards, which ranged from $11,338.50 to $75,000, were applied to the 2025–2026 fiscal year budgets of these institutions with similar awards in the new fiscal year. A full list of institutions receiving grant awards is below.
“North Carolina has more science museums than any other state and this funding supports them as they advance informal science education,” said Denise Young, director of the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, a division of DNCR.
| Applicant | County | Economic Distress Tier 2025-27 | Grant Amount | Region |
| A Time for Science | Pitt | 1 | 75,000.00 | East |
| Airlie Gardens | New Hanover | 3 | 18,151.63 | East |
| Aurora Fossil Museum | Beaufort | 1 | 75,000.00 | East |
| Bald Head Island Conservancy | Brunswick | 3 | 25,546.83 | East |
| Cape Fear Botanical Garden | Cumberland | 1 | 34,017.18 | East |
| Cape Fear Museum of History and Science | New Hanover | 3 | 30,967.21 | East |
| Children’s Museum of Wilmington | New Hanover | 3 | 21,045.77 | East |
| Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center | Carteret | 3 | 47,592.69 | East |
| Cowan Museum of History and Science | Duplin | 2 | 60,000.00 | East |
| Discovery Place Kids – Rockingham | Richmond | 1 | 75,000.00 | East |
| Exploration Station | Robeson | 1 | 25,988.98 | East |
| Fascinate-U Children’s Museum | Cumberland | 1 | 27,504.28 | East |
| Imagination Station Science & History Museum | Wilson | 1 | 75,000.00 | East |
| Ingram Planetarium | Brunswick | 3 | 25,055.87 | East |
| Museum of Coastal Carolina | Brunswick | 3 | 32,110.14 | East |
| North Carolina Estuarium | Beaufort | 1 | 75,000.00 | East |
| Port Discover: Northeastern North Carolina’s Center for Hands-on Science | Pasquotank | 2 | 28,694.22 | East |
| Roanoke/Cashie River Center | Bertie | 1 | 75,000.00 | East |
| Rocky Mount Children’s Museum & Science Center | Nash | 1 | 75,000.00 | East |
| Sturgeon City Environmental Education Center | Onslow | 2 | 60,000.00 | East |
| Sylvan Heights Bird Park | Halifax | 1 | 75,000.00 | East |
| Allison Woods Outdoor Learning Center | Iredell | 3 | 28,675.31 | Piedmont |
| Animal Park at the Conservators Center | Caswell | 1 | 75,000.00 | Piedmont |
| Carolina Raptor Center | Mecklenburg | 3 | 32,697.08 | Piedmont |
| Carolina Tiger Rescue | Chatham | 3 | 23,132.76 | Piedmont |
| Charlotte Museum of Nature | Mecklenburg | 3 | 21,525.29 | Piedmont |
| Cognition Interactive Children’s Museum & Makerspace | Davie | 2 | 60,000.00 | Piedmont |
| Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden | Gaston | 2 | 27,600.74 | Piedmont |
| Discovery Place Kids – Huntersville | Mecklenburg | 3 | 19,646.31 | Piedmont |
| Discovery Place Science | Mecklenburg | 3 | 23,120.30 | Piedmont |
| Duke Lemur Center | Durham | 3 | 15,494.12 | Piedmont |
| Greensboro Science Center | Guilford | 2 | 60,000.00 | Piedmont |
| Iredell Museums | Iredell | 3 | 24,720.85 | Piedmont |
| Kaleideum | Forsyth | 2 | 60,000.00 | Piedmont |
| Marbles Kids Museum | Wake | 3 | 39,845.23 | Piedmont |
| Miriam P. Brenner Children’s Museum | Guilford | 2 | 60,000.00 | Piedmont |
| Morehead Planetarium and Science Center | Orange | 3 | 23,892.52 | Piedmont |
| Museum of Life and Science | Durham | 3 | 36,218.07 | Piedmont |
| North Carolina Botanical Garden | Orange | 3 | 34,054.88 | Piedmont |
| North Carolina Children’s Museum | Orange | 3 | 20,961.57 | Piedmont |
| Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge | Chatham | 3 | 11,338.05 | Piedmont |
| Reynolda House Museum of American Art and Gardens | Forsyth | 2 | 29,061.46 | Piedmont |
| Rowan Wild Nature Center at Dan Nicholas Park | Rowan | 2 | 60,000.00 | Piedmont |
| Sarah P. Duke Gardens | Durham | 3 | 29,484.32 | Piedmont |
| The Schiele Museum of Natural History | Gaston | 2 | 23,457.17 | Piedmont |
| UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens | Mecklenburg | 3 | 14,993.70 | Piedmont |
| Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO | Henderson | 3 | 24,768.41 | West |
| Asheville Museum of Science | Buncombe | 3 | 32,568.52 | West |
| Catawba Science Center | Catawba | 2 | 60,000.00 | West |
| Cradle of Forestry in America | Transylvania | 2 | 60,000.00 | West |
| Hands On! Children’s Museum | Henderson | 3 | 34,619.00 | West |
| Highlands Nature Center & Botanical Garden | Macon | 2 | 30,668.32 | West |
| KidSenses Children’s Interactive Museum | Rutherford | 1 | 75,000.00 | West |
| Mount Airy Museum of Regional History | Surry | 1 | 32,505.95 | West |
| North Carolina Arboretum | Buncombe | 3 | 36,561.08 | West |
| Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute | Transylvania | 2 | 21,827.05 | West |
| Western North Carolina Nature Center | Buncombe | 3 | 35,107.00 | West |
| Wilson Center for Nature Discovery at Grandfather Mountain | Avery | 2 | 60,000.00 | West |
For more information about the North Carolina Science Museums Grant Program or to apply for the next grant cycle, visit ncmuseumgrant.naturalsciences.
Photo: Flora-Wall-at-Wilson-Center-for-Nature-Discovery_Photo-Courtesy-of-Grandfather-Mountain-Stewardship-Foundation