RALEIGH – From the Highlands Biological Station to the Museum of Coastal Carolina, from Grandfather Mountain to Port Discover, 55 science centers across the state have received $6.3 million in special grants under the Science Museum Grants Program from North Carolina. Funding for these special grants is made possible by the U.S. Federal Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), in accordance with 2021 State Budget guidelines. The grants were awarded based on state-legislated criteria that promote state government priorities, with the primary goal of improving STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education opportunities for the public, especially in low-resource communities.
“The North Carolina Science Museum Grants Program helps fund crucial science education in our state,” said D. Reid Wilson, secretary of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. “This investment of federal funds by the Legislature and Governor will increase access to STEM experiences no matter where you live in North Carolina.”
The prizes, which ranged from $70,000 to $185,000, will be applied toward expenses in a federal ARPA funding schedule that covers expenses from 2022 to 2025 at these science centers.
“The excellent work of these museums continues to place our state at the forefront of informal science education nationwide and these grants support that effort,” says Darrell Stover, Science Museums Grants Program Manager. of North Carolina at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
A full list of centers receiving grants is below:
Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, $144,439.59
Aurora Fossil Museum Foundation, Inc., $173,163.02
North Carolina Estuary, $129,395.62
Roanoke/Cashie River Center, $150,636.55
Ocean Isle Museum Foundation, Inc., $144,460.21
Bald Head Island Conservancy, $123,008.16
North Carolina Arboretum Society, $127,048.34
Asheville Science Museum, $122,961.09
Friends of the WNC Nature Center, $96,904.49
Core Sound Waterfowl Museum, $133,850.50
Curatorial Center, $126,111.92
Catawba Science Center, Inc., $106,363.61
Carolina Tiger Rescue, $104,765.26
Friends of the Parks Foundation, Inc. (Fascinate-U Children’s Museum), $119,959.98
Cape Fear Botanical Garden, $107,028.71
Cowan History and Science Museum, $123,908.56
North Carolina Museum of Life and Science, $135,033.70
Sarah P. Duke Gardens, $76,488.53
Duke Lemur Center, $70,549.80
Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden, $84,372.49
Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, $115,851.16
Schiele Museum of Natural History, $111,180.63
Greensboro Natural Science Center (Greensboro Science Center), $97,422.37
Greensboro Children’s Museum, $95,650.63
Sylvan Heights, Inc. Waterfowl Park and Eco-Center, $185,242.83
Hands on! – A children’s gallery (Hands On! Children’s Museum), $106,619.86
Aquarium & Shark Lab by ECCO Team, $71,884.28
Iredell Museums, $78,242.45
Allison Woods Outdoor Learning Center, $112,783.94
Highland Nature Center and Botanic Garden, $147,672.18
Carolina Raptor Center, $132,583.87
Discovery Place Kids-Huntersville, $101,664.21
Discovery Place Science (DPS), $83,146.84
Discovery Place Nature, $74,311.96
UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens, $71,046.99
Rocky Mount Children’s Museum, $127,042.80
Cape Fear History and Science Museum, $111,691.76
Airlie Garden, $108,077.69
Wilmington Children’s Museum, Inc., $89,760.07
Sturgeon City of Jacksonville, $109,191.73
North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation, Inc. on behalf of the North Carolina Botanical Garden, $120,108.62
Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, $84,762.28
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Children’s Museum (Kidzu Children’s Museum), $76,623.13
Port Discover: Northeast North Carolina Center for Hands-on Science, $148,032.71
River Park North (RPN) Walter J. Stasavich Science and Nature Center, $116,926.86
Discovery Place Kids-Rockingham, $142,496.09
Explorer Station, $123,754.33
Rowan County Nature and Wildlife Adventure Center, $141,079.25
KidSenses Interactive Children’s Museum, $154,998.09
Mount Airy Regional History Museum, $109,931.68
Cradle of Forestry Heritage Site $117,770.91
Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute, $106,789.89
Marble Children’s Museum, $101,609.21
Wilson Science Museums, Inc. (Imagination Station Science & History Museum), $126,450.12
About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) is the state agency whose vision is to be the leader in using the state’s natural and cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of North Carolina. NCDNCR’s mission is to improve the quality of life in our state by creating opportunities to experience excellence in North Carolina’s arts, history, libraries, and nature by stimulating learning, inspiring creativity, preserving the state’s history, conserving the state’s natural heritage, encouraging recreation and cultural tourism, and promoting economic development.
NCDNCR includes 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, three science museums, three aquariums and Jennette’s Pier, 41 state parks and recreation areas, the NC Zoo, the NC Symphony Orchestra, the Library of State, the State Archives, the NC Council on the Arts, the African American Heritage Commission, the State Office of Preservation and the State Office of Archaeology, and the Division of stewardship of lands and waters. For more information, please visit www.ncdcr.gov.
