This is a really interesting thing to take a look at. I think I recommend looking at it both…read morebefore, and after, going to the near-by interpretive center. This lets you see what the ironclads would have looked like when they were all together. It's a really interesting thing to see, but the real history is in the building next door.

If you are in Kinston on a Saturday, make sure to stop by and walk around this massive boat. They…read morebuilt the replica to the design of the original so it is really neat to walk around and feel like what it was like to live and work on the boat. The volunteers can answer your questions and provide extra tidbits. The CCC Neuse II is open on Saturdays from 10am to 4pm as it is run by volunteers. There is no cost to view the replica boat though but they do appreciate donations. There is a large parking lot across the street from the replica. This attraction does require walking up stairs to get to the second level. Then other stairs to go below deck.

Downtown New Bern is home to The Pepsi Store, otherwise known as the Birthplace of Pepsi Cola. The…read morestore is located where, back in 1893, Caleb Bradham developed "Brad's Drink." Brad's Drink was created as a digestive aid containing pepsin and kola nuts. It was renamed Pepsi-Cola in 1898. Today, the Pepsi Store is a soda fountain, a museum and a gift shop. Caleb Bradham's original pharmacy was a wooden building that burned down before he died in the 1930s. A new brick building was constructed after the fire. The museum is in both the soda fountain side of the store and the gift shop section, too. You can read about the history and see the original fountain tools, Pepsi bottles, advertising, and antique collectibles. The walls and pillars have a lot of detailed signage. I didn't try anything at the Soda Fountain as I don't like Pepsi, but I kind of regret not getting a float. I think it would have been fun to sit at the fountain. But I was too busy reading about the history. Apparel was a big item in the gift shop; they had had socks, t-shirts, sweatshirts and even baby bibs. Tumblers, books, puzzles, stuffed toys, key chains, magnets, decals, signs and stationery (greeting cards and postcards). Restrooms were also available inside, which is a great convenience for those walking around downtown. I got to see Bradham's house on the New Bern Trolley tour, the Slover-Bradham House. It was built in 1848 and is a beautiful Greek Revival mansion. Whether you are a fan of the drink or just a fan of North Carolina history, this is a must-stop in New Bern. You can go back in time and see where Pepsi began.

This is such a fun and unique spot, especially if you enjoy history, souvenirs, or anything…read morenostalgic. The store has a great selection of Pepsi merchandise, collectibles, apparel, and gifts, and it's neat knowing you're visiting the birthplace of such an iconic brand in New Bern, North Carolina. It's a cool little stop for both locals and visitors, and definitely worth checking out if you're in the area.

The NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Downtown Greenville has its own parking lot and parking is…read morefree. The historic Cuploa Building (1916) was renovated to become the museum and it is ADA accessible from a side entrance that has an elevator. I liked the design of the museum but I thought there'd be more exhibits. The Deep-Sea exhibit is where I started and enjoyed that. Then I saw a fish tank without any fish. There were some reptiles too; a large children's area; hands on areas for children; taxidermy and some minerals. Admission is free.

New address 226 W. 8th Street. Nice and new, clean. My grandson, 5 years, enjoys learning the…read moreocean and creating a race car, manatee hand puppet and "feed a manatee ". He did not want to go home. We recommend this fun museum, donations suggested.

The Greenville Museum of Art is a little more than an art museum. The museum is housed in the…read moreFlanagan House. So you get to tour the historic house as well as enjoy the art work. The home portion is where you will find the permanent collection. The addition is where the special exhibits are. The Scott Avett exhibit is what brought me to the GMOA. I enjoyed the exhibit the North Carolina Museum of Art a few years back. So I was excited that I could view another exhibit not too far away. Some of the paintings were the same but most were new! The museum was easy to find and there is a large free parking lot. Admission is free to view the museum exhibits although there is a charge to view the special exhibits. They do have a donation box. The museum entrance is in the newer wing and you will see signs in the parking lot.

While visiting Greenville, I thought it would be nice to visit the museum to learn more about the…read morecity/culture. The museum is small - looks like it was someone's home, but there were some nice art work featured. My friend and I were the only visitors, so we didn't have to worry about social distancing or anything. There were about 4 or 5 rooms to tour, which was nice. My favorite room had the hanging guitars. Overall, a nice visit if you need something relaxing to do.

I really enjoyed my visit to Tryon Palace! I learned a lot about the history of New Bern, which was…read morevery cool. This house is a very nice reconstruction, as the original one burned down. The guide was very knowledgeable, and they even had fake food set out in the dining room! The gardens were lovely, and you could wander in them for a while (we didn't, just because it was so hot). Definitely a reasonable price to pay for a 45-minute history lesson.

I enjoyed the history of this Palace and thought that the docent giving the tour was quite…read moreknowledgeable. The history was so interesting and I asked a lot questions as well - she didn't seem to kind! And I actually stumped bet on one of the equations. Make sure you walk around the grounds and the gardens as well. They have a pretend military camp based in 1774, so that was very interesting. Well worth it! If you are a senior make sure you ask for the discount - not advertised!

The NC Museum of Natural Sciences was the perfect way to spend a very cold, wet, afternoon in…read moreRaleigh. It was a few miles from our AirBNB, so while we had to drive, there's a large parking lot right across the street. I'm not sure if parking is normally free, but it was on this particular Saturday. No one was monitoring the gate or could figure out how to pay, so we didn't. I *think* the sign said it was normally $5 on days they do charge or monitor. VERY reasonable. The museum itself is FREE unless you want to see an IMAX movie, which is reasonably priced. If you're into dinosaurs, plants, geology, or natural science in general, you'll enjoy yourself here, but the museum definitely adds a local flare and incorporates NC history and geography. While the museum is kid-friendly, it is not kid-focused. It is family focused and for all ages. My husband and I are child-free and had a great time. Of course, we are nerds and had science classes together in college. I do think this is a great museum for kids who are school aged and able to read well and ask questions. It is probably not the best option for toddlers or preschoolers when it comes to museums. The museum hosts birthday parties, and a group was there for that- what a fun idea! If you visit, plan to spend a morning or afternoon here- it definitely takes a few hours to see everything but not the full day.

I've lived in NC for almost 4 years and this was the first time I visited NCMNS! My friend had won…read more4 tickets to the whale exhibit and invited my husband and me to join. We met at 10am right when they opened. We easily found street parking and since it was on a Sunday, it was free to park. The museum is huge! I was so surprised by how large and open it was. All of the staff were friendly and knowledgeable here. We interacted with an employee in the whale exhibit and he was fantastic. The museum is incredibly clean and well maintained. There's so much to see and do. You can easily spend over 2 hours here. I especially loved the geology section, taxidermy/skulls room, and my favorite...the dueling dinosaurs!! It was SO incredible watching paleontologists work on this massive fossil. This part of the museum absolutely made it to be a wonderful experience. This is a great museum and it's free! I donated a little to the museum and also made a few purchases, one being a magnet and another being a beautiful $75 sulfite mineral. This was definitely worth our time and I'm so happy we finally visited!

What great place to tour and staff was so nice.. once we paid and started tour the gentleman put a…read moreball up a tube that went into this cool artistic display of how a rain drop forms and the lifecycle.. it went into a cloud around room which simulated atmosphere and into rivers and big bodies of water it was cool. Then we sat in on 12 min film on estuaries.. then self guided tour .. for $5 it's worth price of admission . Lots of rooms to go thru.. live animals like snake , crab, alligator to see.. and you can walk outside on the deck see beauty of the waterfront area. Enjoyed my visit and highly recommend to anyone in area.

The North Carolina Estuarium is located in Downtown Washington, NC. It is the first estuarium in…read morethe world and focuses on the environment. The NC Estuarium offers ferry rides on the Tar and Pamlico Rivers at various times during the year. I really enjoy the rides as you might see some wildlife besides the plant life. The captain provide fun facts along the way too. The museum is 12,500 square foot and serves as an education center. It provides a great overview of the estuaries and coastal rivers which are an important part of the ecosystem where fresh water and salt water mix. 90% of NC seafood comes from estuaries. We need to keep these waterways clean. In the lobby the display is large and shows the different parts of North Carolina. The NC Esturium is part museum and part aquarium. The aquarium focuses just on estuary species. It has over 200 exhibits and a lot are hands on. The part about the hurricanes was informative and showed the damage done from the rising sea levels. I highly recommend visiting this unique museum.

The Queen Anne's Revenge Conservation Lab is located in Greenville, NC. Once a month, on the first…read moreTuesday of the month, the lab is opened to the public for tours. Reservations are required for the free tours but it is easy to make a reservation on their website. In 1996, Queen Anne's Revenge which had been named La Concorde as it was a French slave ship was found off of the Beaufort inlet. The boat was 103 foot with 40 cannons and sunk on the Beaufort sandbar in 1718. In 2003, QAR Conservation Lab was formed in Greenville as they needed a bigger facility to work. Archaeologists work at the facility to uncover; preserve; clean; identify and catalog the artifacts. This is a very long process. Some of the artifacts took 9 years from when they started until it could be displayed at the museum. The artifacts are covered with concretion which is a mixture of shells, sand and debris that latch on. So they start with xrays to see what is inside. The artifacts need to soak in a tank to keep them wet. Then archaeologists have to use air scribes (it reminded me of a dentist drill) to remove the the concretion. The artifacts then need to soak to desalinate and this can take many years. Electronic reduction is used to help stop corrosion. Anodes get attached to artifacts to help the process. The warehouse has some parts of the hull structure; a 12 foot anchor that weighs over 2000 pounds; cannons; cannon balls; and much more. Some of the small artifacts were found in the sand. So far, 30 of the cannons have been recovered among the hundreds of thousands of artifacts. I had no idea how much was involved in getting items from the sea to the point they are ready for the museum. I have much respect for these archaeologists preserving history. I highly recommend taking a tour at QAR Conservation Lab as it is a unique experience.

I highly recommend I toured this museum when bi was a little girl and hageva picture on the…read moreoriginal Queen Anne Pirate Ship. Greenville has alot of historical places and history no one knows about.

The Ava Gardner Museum is a large museum located in Downtown Smithfield. It is 6,400 square feet…read moreand is dedicated to showcasing the hometown legend of Ava Gardner. I've visited the museum many times as I enjoy learning about Ava and seeing the new exhibits at the museum. There is a large parking lot behind the museum and even some spots near her mural to park for free. Parking on the street is no longer allowed, as a lot of vehicles were getting hit. But the parking is still very close by. When you arrive at the museum, you will be greeted. Admission was $14 on my visit, but they do offer military, senior and educator discounts. Your visit starts with a video of Ava's life to give you an introduction. It runs about 18 minutes, and there are many seats to pick from. The video helps tie all the exhibits together. From there, you can start exploring the museum and learn about Ava's humble beginnings. You will learn how she became an actress and star, see the dresses she wore, and learn about her three marriages to Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw and Frank Sinatra. The museum contains lots of poster boards to read, filled with information, many personal and film mementos, you can watch her films, look at her personal library, and see art that an artist created of her. He put "Easter eggs" into the paintings for you to find. I highly recommend visiting the Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield, NC. Make sure to stop in the gift shop for some mementos and other items.

Sarah is such a wonderful and welcoming docent! What a…read moredelight it was to finally make it to this wonderful museum! I've passed by the billboards so many times and today I'm so happy to check this off my wish list. It was wonderful to learn all about eva Gardner, who came from this very town and became one of Hollywood's biggest stars! I loved learning about her after Hollywood life living in Europe with her beloved corgis! So interesting to learn about the fellas that she married in the kind relationship that she had with them after parting ways. I really enjoyed seeing her amazing fashions, face-to-face! I really enjoyed seeing her personal items too! There is also a theater where you can watch a video that tells about her life and shows her living her life to the fullest! The gift shop was also filmed with many charming things! And all things were priced very reasonably. There was eva, Gardner, coffee, and soap! And of course, books, videos, and postcards! I also love the fan that could be used on hot days that featured her wonderful smile! I loved visiting here !!

We visited the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores (PKS) on July 4, 2025. Having visited…read morethe New York Aquarium (in Brooklyn, NY) a week earlier, it was an opportunity to compare the two. Parking is free (unlikely to change in the last 12 months). At the entrance of the Aquarium PKS was a man-made pond. There wasn't a wait line at the ticket counter. Purchasing of ticket was quick and easy. Judging by the price - half of New York Aquarium's - I expected a modest-sized aquarium. In the Entrance Lobby, the sign next to the animal sculpture stated that it was an alligator. The sculpture itself had the color of a crocodile. The Orientation Lobby was past the Information desk. Up ahead in the Orientation Lobby was an entrance with the overhead sign "Mountains" for the Mountain Gallery. Upon entering this gallery, we were greeted by a man-made waterfall. A doorway to the left led to the gallery's collection, mostly fishes. The Trout Pool was one of several open tanks. Next to it was a "Do Not Touch" symbol like the one shown on the Aquarium map. It meant no putting of one's hand(s) into the tank. Adjoining the Mountain Gallery was the Piedmont Gallery. With a similar collection but different species of fishes, the Piedmont Gallery also had some non-fishes and non-amphibians. I saw salamanders, frogs, owls and otters. The otters were adorable, as evident by the crowd. On the right past the Piedmont Gallery was the Coastal Plain Gallery. This gallery consisted of reptiles alongside additional species of fishes, most notably pond turtles, crocodiles, corn snakes and longnose gars. After that, we walked back towards the Piedmont Gallery. There was an exit past that gallery that led outside to the Outdoor Marsh Boardwalk. At the boardwalk to our right was Eagle Landing, a habitat area for two female bald eagles. Eagle Landing wasn't enclosed - no nets or walls - because both girls couldn't fly due to wing injuries. So no worries about them coming at us with beaks and talons. Don't ask me which one was Uwohali and which one was Shagoie Watha. Both looked the same to me. Across from Eagle Landing were marshes with two overlooks to view from. I took a photo from Bogue Sound Overlook. Further down the Outdoor Marsh Boardwalk was a shelter called Snakes of the Maritime Forest showcasing more slithering friends (or fears, to those that were ophiophobic), both venomous and non-venomous types. I recalled visiting the San Diego Zoo back in the early 2000s. Its collection of snake was at least five times more. After Snakes of the Maritime Forest was Tree-mendous Nature Play, a play area for kids and the young at heart. Wife observed that the surrounding woods reminded her of childhood times growing up in a similar surrounding. We continued onto Alice Hoffman Nature Trail for a short distance and then headed back to the building. After the Coastal Plain Gallery was another area. Judging by the extra-large model of a hermit crab and the two turtle seat sculptures for visitors to chill, we were in a foyer of a separate section... for saltwater species. This section was divided into two galleries of species exhibits. Tidal Waters Gallery was the first. Its collection included stingrays, seahorses and turtles, as well as fishes swimming in tanks with undersea decors. One such decor was a replica of Blackbeard's ship Queen Anne's Revenge shown in the video below right. Ocean Gallery was essentially a continuation of Tidal Waters Gallery with more saltwater creatures supposedly dwelling in the further depths of the ocean. There were two large tanks, each with a replica of a shipwreck. Of the two, The Living Shipwreck was larger and more prominent for another reason: sharks. Last week at NY Aquarium, I saw them swam over my head in the underwater glass tunnel. This time, they were swimming in front of me. Continuing on, there was a lobster in a smaller tank. The display stated "Lobsters" but I saw only one. Review continues in the final attached image.

Having volunteered at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga for more than 7 years, I am a bit…read moreprejudiced about what I like in an aquarium. TN will always be my favorite. Even so, this place is very nice. It's about half the size of the TN aquarium but follows the same theme, tracing water from the mountains to the ocean. It is well laid out and has a great atmosphere. Very nice place for kids as well as adults. The price is reasonable for the environment. Well worth spending and hour or two when in the area.