I love it here. I am a very science-y girl, I love anything to do with science and medicine. So, of…read morecourse, I started coming here a few years ago. The planetarium shows are gorgeous, my particular favorite was one about monarch butterfly migration. The Aquarium and reptile section is so cool, you get to see these massive tortoises and an alligator named Lucy, pet sting rays, fish of all kinds, etc. You can also explore the human body section and the physics section, where you can play on a special pulley system on a physics playground. There is also a section with insects where you can take a closer look at different types of preserved butterflies. And, every three years or so, they hold a butterfly exhibit where you can watch the butterflies flutter about. They'll even give you some sugar water on your finger, and butterflies will come flocking to you and even land on you! I had the privilege of being present for it last year and butterflies landed on me left and right, I absolutely felt like Snow White! All in all, the Catawba Science Center is a family friendly learning environment that is perfect for field trips of all kinds. You won't regret visiting!

The Catawba Science Center is located next to the Hickory Art Museum in the SALT complex so I…read morestopped here too. It was about $15 to visit the museum. I had reciprocity but didn't think to ask about it and they didn't ask like is done at the other museums. The Science Center was on the small side and a lot of the exhibits were out of order. The exhibits they had seemed geared more to younger children. So there wasn't a lot there. I never found my way to the aquarium as that is apparently in another building and that was not mentioned. The planetarium show wasn't starting until 2pm so that was disappointing. I will go back with my reciprocity to see the building I missed.

A very small intimate theater with enthusiastic staffing and surprisingly strong performers made…read morethis a great afternoon with a very nice lunch at the nearby depot.

Amazing little venue that I was unaware of and have lived in area for 30 years. Will definitely…read morekeep up with upcoming acts

Absolutely the best way to spend a Friday night. The cast was amazingly talented and the venue…read morebeing so intimate was great. My friend and I had the best time and are so happy to have something like this locally. I'm from Southern California and she is from NYC and literally thought the actors could easily find their place in our local theater companies back home. Can't wait for the next performance.

Easy stadium. Parking was $5, could just be free. No security walked right in. Came for one of…read moretheir last fireworks shows of the year on a Saturday. It was a shame the team were in silly Oat Milk uniforms rather than their usual rotations. Was able to get paper tickets which was nice. Small merch store. Didn't eat anything, was curious if they were any crawfish but didn't see any. Did find a craft beer stand selling $4 12oz Carolina beer! Deal! Got to meet Conrad. Firework show was good, a little short. Saw Gavin Fien make his MiLB debut. Parking lot was a little jammed getting out, we just waited til it cleared out.

Wanted to love this as a fan but the fact that this stadium allows hecklers to store their signs in…read morethe stadium and encourages the taunting of 19 years old is sad. Especially when they are saying things that hit below the belt. Music is ok. Food isn't great. Not the best minor league stadium by any means.

Went to a BeeGees Tribute band concert. The sound system was…read moregreat. All attendants were very professional & kind. Nice theater with 1000 person capacity. Only advice, arrive early so you can park. If raining, bring an umbrella as there is no cover above the entrance.

The Hickory Museum of Art is located at the SALT complex which was once a high school gymnasium…read more Both admission and parking are free and if the lot in front is full there is a huge lot in the back. Hickory Museum of Art just celebrated its 80th Anniversary. The museum is on three levels and they have curvy staircases; regular staircases and an elevator. I used each during my visit as the curvy stairs made me dizzy so I opted for the elevator to the 3rd floor and found the regular stairs. Besides in the big open spaces there is also art to be found in the nooks and crannies of the art portion of the building. There are also hands on areas for children. I really enjoyed the In Memoriam exhibit of Joe LaFone. I do not believe I had seen his work before but I loved the vibrant colors of the work as well as the textures. It grabbed my attention and made me smile. I believe there are permanent and changing exhibits so that means a return trip to see the new artwork and discover another artist new to me.

I'm surprised that I'm getting the FTR on this wonderful museum. While it's not MOMA or the Getty,…read moreit's a great museum in a small town that is an exurb of Charlotte. Five stars because it's in a category all by itself. Y'all need to make the trip up here! The Hickory Museum of Art has a long-term exhibition of Southern contemporary folk art, showcasing the work of self-taught artists from around the region. North Carolina's second oldest museum, Hickory Museum of Art was established in 1944 when visionary founding Director, Paul Whitener, declared, "I am going to make Hickory, North Carolina an art center." Hickory Museum of Art first earned national accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums in 1991. The museum is free to enter though they of course accept donations. When I visited, only the first and third floors were accessible as the second floor is currently having a changeover of exhibitions. You can easily tour the entire place in an hour. Today, the museum's permanent collection includes approximately 1,500 art objects, ranging from Hudson River School paintings, American art pottery, Glass Art, High-Speed Photography, and the work of regional artists. The third floor of "folk art" was interesting and enjoyable though not the type of art that I usually look for. On the first floor, more landscapes and portraits and a few pieces of contemporary art. Definitely more my speed. The museum has free parking and if you've come this far, check out the Ivey Arboretum two blocks away which features 50 different species of trees and plantings plus a few pieces of public sculpture, https://www.yelp.com/biz/ivey-arboretum-at-sally-fox-park-hickory?hrid=7Ncg9GcUykd7nIRM-MopeA. The museum shares the space with the Catawba Science Center. [Review 15882 overall - 3098 in North Carolina - 1386 of 2021.]

We had such an amazing time at Lake Hickory Haunts!! We have been to many haunted houses and I must…read moresay I absolutely love Lake Hickory because you only get in line one time and then you walk through all of the haunts. When you exit one haunt you are on a path for a minute or two and then enter the next haunt. I love that so much! It makes for such a fun, continuous, seamless experience. No worry about not seeing everything or running out of time. The layout is so cool! I really enjoyed their midway. You can grab some water and a snack, use the bathroom, take pictures with scare actors, and even go in an escape room all on their midway. The haunts themselves were super cool because there were unexpected and different things in the haunts. This is not the same stuff you see everywhere. Highly recommend!

This is my second time visiting Lake Hickory Haunts and I am very impressed by the haunted…read moreexperience and their Midway of Mayhem. The actors are top notch both on the haunted trail and on the midway. The decorations are incredible and spooky, you can tell the put a lot of thought into making your experience special. Since I visited in 2024 and 2025, I think I need to wait a few years before visiting again to help refresh the experience for myself. They did move somethings around from last year, but I remembered too much. Even so, I still got spooked a few times!

So far this is my favorite fair grounds in all the Carolinas. Parking adjacent to the fair is…read morereasonable at $2.00. Main gate is a short walk across the field where you surrender another $5.00 to actually enter the grounds where you are greeted first the the Teen Queen and then by some new orange tractors and other wheeled agricultural machinery. Inside the first exhibit hall are booths of the county extension office, the farm bureau, beef council, dairy heirs, news papers, insurance agents, roof and siding shills, and some hack pushing his "new testaments" who was unable to satisfactorily explain omitting the "old testament". Further along is a cattle barn with a few milkers being tended and then the poultry barn with more chickens then I've seen in a long time: all manner of leghorns, rhode island reds, asils, comets, bantams... and two turkeys. Kinda bummed about the absence of horses, goats, and bunnies but maybe they'll arrive later in the week... Way out back is a red clay short track where crazy fast go carts were making time in a perpetual left-hand drift. Think there's going to be a demolition derby there end of the week, not for sure though. The midway is the midway; a variety of fair foods (customary and odd renditions of gyros, dogs, burgers, pizza, funnel cake, sausage, cobbed corn, ices, ice cream, and more funnel cake) scattered among modestly interesting rides (rotor, swings, cages, whirly-whirl) the usual assortment of games of chance with hucksters oing their level best to separate fools from moneys, and attractions (chainsaw carving, EMTs, rappers on parade, illusionists, and Iowa ninjas!) All things considered it was a pretty nice way to spend an evening. A little walking around with my best girl, sharing near-lethal doses of sugar and fat in the cool crisp late summer air. Tractor pulls would have been great, and bunnies.