As students and families settle into a new school year, the
Press Releases
The NC Aquarium Society received a $25,000 grant from New Hanover County to support the expansion and renovation of the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher (NCAFF), helping advance new habitats, educational spaces, and visitor experiences. A division of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the North Carolina Aquariums connect more than a million visitors to the aquatic world each year, inspiring care and conservation of nature.
Alamance Battleground State Historic Site will host a day of family fun and education on Saturday, Sept. 12, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. This event will feature historical trade demonstrations, a cannon firing, historical music, a food truck, and much more! Alamance Battleground is administered by the Division of State Historic Sites within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR).
Learn about back-to-school challenges from over 50 years ago in a free online program hosted by the State Archives of North Carolina, a division of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Three decades of creepy, crawly, fluttering fun come together when the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences hosts BugFest on Saturday, Sept. 19, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. This year’s theme, “Hoppers,” spotlights treehoppers, leafhoppers and planthoppers, including the invasive and already infamous spotted lanternfly. The museum is part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
The North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island will celebrate its 50th anniversary Sept. 9-12, with a series of public events inviting guests to join in the festivities. The aquarium, part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and one of four facilities in the N.C. Aquariums system, first opened its doors to the public on Sept. 9, 1976.
Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site will debut a new family-friendly event on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 6-9 p.m. When the sun sets, “Reed Glow Mine” comes to life with the addition of 25,000 lights around every twist and turn of the property. Ticket sales begin on Sept. 1 and the site anticipates a sell-out event. Reed Gold Mine is administered by the Division of State Historic Sites within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR).
Food, fun and fintastic trivia await at the 2026 Suds for Sharks Saturday, Aug. 29, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at Savard Beer & Board hosted by the NC Aquarium Society to raise funds for shark conservation. Shark experts from the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher (NCAFF) will make this an unforgettable afternoon with trivia, bingo, one-on-one chats and exciting updates on shark conservation. This family-friendly event will also feature fun for children as our teams are committed to inspiring the next generation of shark conservationists.
North Carolina State Parks and the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, two divisions of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, will be hosting this year’s N.C. Bat Working Group "Bat Blitz" to conduct a species inventory in five southeastern North Carolina counties Aug. 24-28. More than 80 trained participants from federal and state agencies and other organizations will be engaging in this effort, centered at Singletary Lake State Park in Bladen County.
A Pentagon 9/11 survivor will share her first-hand account of that historic day during the first of four public programs scheduled in September at the