Museum of Life and Science

Located less than 5 miles from downtown, the Museum of Life and Science is one of North Carolina’s top family destinations. Its 84-acre campus includes a two-story science center, one of the largest butterfly conservatories on the East Coast and beautifully landscaped outdoor exhibits. Its interactive experiences include Dinosaur Trail, Ellerbe Creek Railway, Hideaway Woods, Into the Mist, Earth Moves and Aerospace, which features one of the largest collections of Apollo-era NASA artifacts in the state. The museum is also an AZA-accredited zoo and home to more than 60 species of live animals, including rescued black bears, lemurs and endangered red wolves.