This museum is a great way to spend a day in town. Very…read moreinteresting exhibits. I would recommend this place for family and friend who come to visit Raleigh, north carolina.

Based on from what i gathered, the museum will close in October 2024 for a renovation to be…read morecompleted in 2027? Considering the 2nd floor was closed the day I went plus admission was free, this was definitely worthwhile to check out. So much history going back to the Indian tribes and the Confederecy to the Wright Brothers, albeit some of it not so pretty, but it's the truth and it needs to be remembered and not hidden. Museum row here is on the smaller side. Metered parking on the street. Will definitely be back after the renovation!

When I read about an arboretum at the Johnston County Community College, I knew I wanted to stop…read moreand see it. There were no signs up and I was not sure if the public was allowed there. I was the only one there. I've since learned the public is welcome 7 days a week during daylight hours. The Arboretum is on the smaller side with some trees, greenhouses and rows of plants. Their goal is to preserve native species so they are doing good work. I'm sure the arboretum will grow in time and have more and better labels for what is there. There is a lot of shade here from the trees so it was nice on the hot day. I think there are some walking trails there too. While I wouldn't make a special visit to come here, it is a nice place to explore nature if in the area. It is about 5 minutes from the outlet mall.

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 !!

The Wilson Botanical Garden is wonderful and I highly recommend stopping if in the area or driving…read morethrough. Admission and parking are free and weekdays there are restrooms available. The garden is a little deceiving from the entrance as it is much bigger than it appears at 11 acres. But was also so different than I expected. I started in the STEM Garden. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) There are carnivorous plants; solar power panels; a windmill; hydroponic plants; and a math area to calculate the number of plants. There are explanations of each area and I was very impressed and excited to learn something new. The garden is divided into areas to showcase the diverse plants like hosta; daylilies; and herbs. One area is for children but you can wander and taken in the all the different plants. I read that there were over 200 different plants. There is a beehive but that is fenced and has signage.

Came here for a family reunion. The facility was clean and spacious. While the guests were…read morearriving, I took my son outside to walk their garden. At first, I wasn't impressed because there was nothing planted or the plants looked dead. No flowers were in bloom and bushes looked unkept. As we kept walking we came to another area, the gem. This must be there main garden; there was a cute little slide, a swing, a sound around, a gazebo, a stream, a bridge, and a sand play pit. I wonder what the rest of the garden looks like at the start of spring. Overall a nice venue.

What a charming history museum, complete with multiple air conditioned buildings, including the…read morecarriage house (with an iron lung) and a delightful medicinal garden. The educational and interesting guided tours begin on the hour and are lead by a professional guide. The museum is very well done--thank you East Carolina University. While it is called the Country Doctor Museum, a good portion of it is a tribute to the work and impact of nurses as well. Learn about the apothecary and unique stories about various artifacts in the museum. There are no opportunities for hands-on experiences and small children may not be the best guests. Seniors (over 55) get a discount. The gift shop has an variety of themed gifts for purchase. I took visitors from Illinois and they loved it. I'll bring other guests who visit Eastern NC.

The Country Doctor Museum has been updated since my prior visits. Admission is $8 and your tour…read morestarts in the gift shop building which also has a library and some medical artifacts. Guided tours run on the hour and you will get to see the building that was a country doctor's office, a medicinal herb garden is behind this building, then the last building is where the carriages, old vehicles and the iron lung are located. You will see how medicines were made with herbs and how the pills were cut. They used what was available. There is a room with surgery tools and prosthetics. The tools used changed over the years and they learned that hot water prevented some infections from developing. The newest addition is a sick room. This room shows what it was like if you were sick and isolated. The room also has a lot to read and see of how health care has evolved. Vaccines are much more recents that I realized. The last building showcases the carriages and some Ford vehicles. There are some doctors bags to see as well. The iron lung gives a visual to imagine what that would have been like to be inside. Even though I have visited this museum a few times, I learn something new every time. They also keep updating the museum and adding new artifacts. The gift shop is also a great place to find some unique gifts.

A beautiful location to walk. I always forget to take photos when I am there as I normally go for…read morebusiness. However, I have stopped on my way out at the garden area and walked around. Very peaceful and pleasant. I could see coming out during good weather to just take time with nature. The location (when I am there) is fairly quiet. There is plenty of parking as well.

A small group of us went for the Christmas Jubilee. It is a nice feature for the town of Selma…read more There is street parking only but it seemed adequate. The Saturday show was almost sold out by the looks of the crowd. The performances were good and it was an enjoyable afternoon. It is a good location for family entertainment! Check it out

The Rudy Theatre opened in Downtown Selma, North Carolina in 1998. Thankfully it survived the…read morepandemic when it was closed for well over a year. But it has been back open for a few months now and is currently having the Christmas Jubilee shows that combine music and comedy. I've only been to the Christmas shows but I was informed that there are four different shows each year. A Country show; an Easter Show and a Summer show. Besides the shows The Rudy puts on they do have performers come and have there shows at the venue from Elvis music to Bluegrass to Beach music. The theatre has about 500 seats. I've sat in the middle of the floor level before; the front row and this time I decided to try out the balcony. They do the sound and lights up in the balcony so you can see that too. The balcony does requires walking up stairs. I found the seats in all the sections to have good views. Parking is street parking but there was plenty available on the surrounding streets. The lobby has a concessions area and the prices are reasonable. The staff is really friendly and helpful too.

I stumbled upon this gem of a history lesson by accident while walking to downtown from our Airbnb…read more Catherine gave my son and I a great tour and history of Raleigh. I'm a history buff and she was able to keep me interested in an area of the country I know little of. Always fun to learn local history. It's free and enjoyable.

I had never been to the Joel Lane House Museum so the Fourth of July Celebration was the perfect…read moretime. The museum offers free parking on St. Mary's Street and more parking in front of the house on West Hargett. Admission is usually charged but was free for this event as we were not given the official tour but received $4 off coupons to return for a tour. They provided Howling Cow ice cream and free lemonade too. So who was Joel Lane? Joel Lane is considering a Founding Father of North Carolina and Raleigh. He sold 1,000 acres of land to make Raleigh the State Capital. The Joel Lane Museum House is the oldest house in Raleigh and is older than Wake County. The decision to move North Carolina's Capital to Raleigh happened in the Joel Lane House. As they say "it was the room that it happened". Joel Lane was a slave holder of 43 adults and children. They are the ones who built the house and maintained the plantation, raising the livestock, cooking and caring for the Lane family. The museum provides a way for us to see how life would have been back then from the candles to the necessary to the toys they had to how they made yarn for clothing. The herb garden provided a method for medicine. The holiday event provided an overview but I am planning to return for a tour to learn more of the history and see all of the property.