Press Releases

WHAT:

 In the early 1970s, the voices of three children transformed the future of North Carolina’s coastal environment when the sand dune known as Jockey’s Ridge was set to be leveled and developed for residential housing.

Hammocks Beach State Park’s Bear Island will close campsites and ferry service through at least the summer for a major construction project to make necessary water and septic system repairs and replacements, the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation announced.There is currently no potable water or working restrooms at Bear Island. The ferry service, which normally begins operating in April, will not open until construction is complete. Campsites are also closed to new reservations until construction is complete.

The Museum of the Albemarle opens its newest banner display, Flying Kites with Delia, on April 1, 2024. The exhibit tells the history of kites and their usage in northeastern North Carolina as told by the narrator, Delia, a delta kite. The exhibit is written for elementary ages children with historical images and colorful sketches. No one knows when or how or why the world’s first kite was flown, but one legend suggests that a farmer from China was the first person to fly a kite.

North Carolina will launch its commemoration of America’s 250th birthday with the captivating "Halifax Resolves Days: Prelude to Revolution" event in Halifax, N.C., April 12-14.The event will take place at the iconic Historic Halifax State Historic Site in conjunction with Halifax Resolves Day on April 12, and will feature a two-day living history weekend where North Carolina's pivotal role in shaping the destiny of America will be on display.

The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is pleased to announce that 10 individual properties across the state have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.The following properties were reviewed by the North Carolina National Register Advisory Committee and subsequently nominated by the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Officer. They were submitted to the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places, an official with the National Park Service, for consideration and ultimately approved for listing in the National Register.

The North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro was nominated for “Best Zoo” in USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards for 2024. As the world’s largest natural habitat zoo, the North Carolina Zoo spans over 2,800 acres and cares for over 1,700 animals. The North Carolina Zoo also turns 50 this year, making the nomination an added treat for its golden anniversary.

On Thursday evening, April 11, 2024, at 6:00 p.m., the Museum of the Albemarle and Elizabeth City State University, will host the Max Roach Centennial Celebration Jazz Festival opening night reception with special guest Elizabeth City native, A. B. Spellman. Spellman has written essays and poetry for Rhythm magazine and taught at Morehouse College, Emory University, Rutgers, and Harvard University.  

A new exhibit has been installed in the visitor center at Fort Dobbs State Historic Site.Using a mix of authentic relics and replica items, the exhibit explains the importance of trade between colonists and American Indians in the Carolina backcountry in the 1750s, calling particular attention to occasions when American Indians visited the fort, both as friends and as enemies.

First appearing approximately 230 million years ago, the hearty crocodilians — alligators, crocodiles, caimans and gharials — have survived nearly every earthly scenario. They have outlived dinosaurs, ice ages, mass extinctions and more, yet they have changed very little over time. Find out all you ever wanted to know about crocodilians, plus a menagerie of wild reptiles and amphibians from North Carolina and around the world, at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences’ Reptile & Amphibian Day, Saturday, March 9, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.