The Poe House is next door to the Museum of Cape Fear and that is where to sign up for your tour…read moreand where the tour starts. A volunteer takes you through the house of E. A. and Josephine Poe. Mr. Poe owned Poe Brick Company. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places. The house is currently getting some much needed maintenance and painting done so make sure to check in advance if it will be open the day you want to visit. The guided tour takes about an hour. The house is a Victorian Style and built from a kit. The wrap around porch and the intricate detailing outside is impressive. The inside of the house is in great condition and has tall ceilings; wide doors and the woodwork is very impressive. It gives a glimpse into early 20th century life. The house has two staircases one for the family and another for the servants. The servants were provided living quarters. The kitchen is detached from the house as the oven was on all day. I highly recommend visiting this beautiful house.

We visited the Poe house yesterday, and really enjoyed it. The house was beautiful, our tour guide…read morewas great even dressed the part. She was very knowledgeable. It was nice to learn how they lived and the family. Next door we visited the gift shop but didn't have time to visit the museum part. (Will have to come back) Also it was free, with donations welcome.

Very interesting and extensive museum! We were in there for 2 hours and still didn't feel we…read morecovered everything. Definitely worth the stop.

I took my Family to visit this museum a couple months ago and they loved it. My brother-in-law was…read morein the Army, and my nephew is in school to be a pilot, so i thought it would be right up their alley. We all walked around and looked at exhibits for several hours. It is put together really well, and all the immersive parts are really great. I think that anyone coming to Fayetteville would enjoy this museum. It is free, but they take small donations to keep up with all the maintenance ect. The gift shop is really impressive as well and you can find something neat for anyone!

It would be better if they sporadically went and sanitized items. Especially in the toddler room…read moreinstead of just collecting items throughout the day. Some areas are better than others. Some have a ton of toys to play with, and some have absolutely nothing in the area. It's a good place if you have a toddler and want them to run around and burn some energy off

I'm honestly shocked this place has any good reviews. It was so dirty and all the toys and displays…read morewere old and dingy. In the toddler room, all the plastic toys had no batteries. Everything looked dirty and ancient. The reading area was so dingy my friend said "looks like we are about to get bed bugs." There was a school group absolutely destroying the place when we arrived in the display areas. Not a single item was where it belonged (all the food in the grocery area, the mail in the mail area, etc was wrecked). The children were running completely wild with zero supervision while the few chaperones stood in a different room and didn't put a single thing back where it belonged. I can't believe I paid $20 for this and our kids didn't really enjoy it. My toddler who barely talks said "messy, clean up." The hand sanitizers didn't have actual canisters of hand sanitizer, they were empty. Good thing I brought my own. Place looked like a germ factory. Go to Marbles or Rockingham for a good children's play space/museum.

This is a very nice museum and it is really well laid out. The staff are friendly and pleasant…read more Unfortunately, during my visit, they began to play loud music over the speakers which made it difficult to read and concentrate on the descriptions. If not for the distraction of the loud music, would've rated 5 stars.

Very well put together. What a great way to show our pride for these men and women who have served…read moreour great country. Thank you and god bless!!

This is a very affordable place to bring the kids to keep them entertained for a few hours!read more

This is one of our favorite children's museums and we have been to many! Their pricing is…read morereasonable and there's endless fun. If you pay for an annual membership then you get to play an hour before it opens to the public. They do daily science shows as well as other events that rotate. My kids are ages 2 and 5 and we've been going for years now. Our favorite things are the water play area, train tables, fire truck, and the weather station. They also do birthday parties! Definitely check it out if you're in the area, we always have such a good time!

Lots of great displays and information…read more Also, has a cafe with great food. We had a blast when we visited a few weeks ago. Don't miss it. Visit when you can.

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!

I will gladly drive the extra five minutes it takes me to get here than to go to Fayetteville for…read moretheir children's museum. Exploration Station is worth the drive. Nestled in downtown Lumberton, Exploration Stations is a well-built and cared for children's museum. The clean and tastefully decorated interior is perfect for young children to upper elementary in age. My family was warmly greeted by the employees, and they were genuine in their interactions with us. Near the front, there is a lovely space to do birthday parties and have cake, while being separate from the food-free rest of the facility. The rest of the facility is an absolute blast. There are more areas than I have pictures of, and my littles loved every spot. The favorite area was the ship, as it has a second level and sound effects to imitate a cannon firing. They even have a dedicated area for small children who cannot walk. It truly has something for every young child. Parking can be found along the street or in a side parking lot, so we had no issues with finding space, even though they were hosting a birthday party while we were there. The bathrooms are clean and bright. I could tell even before talking with one employee about the cleaning schedule that the materials are well cared for and routinely inspected for cleanliness and quality. I could spend a whole day here, but we unfortunately we were coming close to their closing time and had to leave. This definitely will be a place I keep in mind for my youngest kiddos next birthday. It's truly a magical place.

The scheduling was easy, the work was great and the price was better than expected. It is a…read moreconvenient location and a clean shop with quality workmanship.

Very lovely historic cottage located on its original foundation in Moore County, North Carolina. I…read morealways try to take my guests here. This is as historical as it gets in the Sandhills and I enjoy it every time I see it. From their website: The Shaw House is typical of the antebellum houses which followed the cabins of the early Sandhills settlers. It is less elaborate than the seacoast plantations and has the charm and sturdy simplicity which was characteristic of the Scottish families who settled in this region. The interior is highlighted by fine detail on two hand-carved fireplace mantels of unusual beauty, and by many outstanding early examples of Moore County pottery and "plain-style" pine furniture. A wing was added to the house in the mid-1800s and a kitchen was added sometime in the 1920s. Charles C. Shaw, a first-generation Scottish settler, acquired 2,500 acres and built the house around 1820. The date of 1842 on the chimney is thought to have been the year that the front porch and the two attached "travelers' rooms" were added. One of his 12 children, Charles Washington Shaw, inherited the property and lived in the house, becoming the first mayor of Southern Pines in 1887. The house remained in the Shaw family until it was acquired in 1946 by the newly formed Moore County Historical Association in a grassroots effort to ensure its preservation.

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!