LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Field trip opportunities in Mecklenburg County

Harvey B. Gantt Center for African- American Arts + Culture
This cultural center was created to preserve the visual and performing arts heritages of African-Americans and other minorities. The Center has an art gallery with “over 100 works of art from renowned artists such as Elizabeth Catlett, Romare Bearden, John Biggers.” It also offers art classes to all age groups.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Blue Planet Water Environmental Center
A hands-on environmental education center which focuses on water and waste water treatment.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Carolina Raptor Center
Find answers to raptor questions, in-depth information about and photos of over twenty raptor species (the species includes owl, eagles, vultures, and more!), and a huge variety of raptor activities and games such as crossword puzzles, quizzes, and coloring pages. There is also information on visiting the Center.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Carolinas Aviation Museum
Learn about the history of modern aviation in North and South Carolina at this museum which is dedicated to the preservation of aviation heritage.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Children's Theatre of Charlotte
Open up the realm of theatre arts to your students with a field trip to one of the fine productions at the Children's Theatre of Charlotte at ImaginOn.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Discovery Place and the Charlotte Nature Museum
Discovery Place offers hands-on activities in all areas of science for students at both the Discovery Halls and Charlotte Nature Museum.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
EnergyExplorium
Take a tour and enjoy the programs offered by Duke Power's EnergyExplorium.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Historic Latta Plantation
A living history farm 20 miles north of Charlotte features an African American exhibit, virtual tour and history of this once cotton plantation, activities for kids, and teacher resources.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Historic Rosedale Plantation
Located a few miles from the center of downtown Charlotte, the Rosedale Plantation is a good representation of plantation life in Piedmont North Carolina.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Historic Rural Hill Farm - Center of Scottish Heritage
Students will go back in history when they visit Historic Rural Hill Farm.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
ImaginOn
There is something for everybody at this wonderful facility which provides both theater and library related activities.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Latta Plantation Nature Center and Preserve
Environmental education programs at this nature center allow students to explore the wonders of nature all around them.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Levine Museum of the New South
This museum shows the diverse history of the South since the Civil War, with a focus on Charlotte and the surrounding Carolina Piedmont.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Mint Hill Country Doctor's Museum and Country Store
This museum takes the visitor back to the early years of medical practice and the "daily lives and routines of Southern people living in rural areas from the late 1800's to the 1930's."
Format: article/field trip opportunity
The Mint Museum
Access to digitized images from special exhibitions and the permanent collections of the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC, along with activities for kids.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Polk Memorial (NC Historic Site)
A congressman for the state of Tennessee and President of the United States, James K. Polk was a native of the state of North Carolina. This historic site celebrates his life and accomplishments.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Reedy Creek Nature Center and Preserve
Discover local biodiversity and natural heritage through hands-on experiences in the natural world.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
YMCA Camp Thunderbird
Provides environmental education programs to North and South Carolina K-12 students in bird study, fish dissection, orienteering and forest ecology.
Format: article/field trip opportunity

Learn more about Mecklenburg County

4-H sale selling chickens in Mecklenburg
4-H sale selling chickens in Mecklenburg
Several large cages full of chickens are the center of attention in this black and white photograph from the 1950s. Four African American 4-H club members are standing behind the cages as they listen to someone up at the podium in front of them. A loud speaker...
Format: image/article
An albino Red-Tailed Hawk at the Carolina Raptor Center
An albino Red-Tailed Hawk at the Carolina Raptor Center
This is an albino Red-Tailed Hawk named Honeysuckle at the Carolina Raptor Center in Huntersville, North Carolina.
Format: image/photograph
The Belk brothers' department stores
In North Carolina in the New South, page 2.12
When Henry and John Belk opened their first department store in Charlotte in 1895, the idea of buying everything under one roof -- and always for cash, not store credit -- was new to consumers. This excerpt from the history of Belk, Inc., tells the story of Henry Belk, his first store in Monroe, and the Belk Bros. stores in downtown Charlotte.
Format: book
The Charlotte Museum of History in Charlotte, NC
The Charlotte Museum of History in Charlotte, NC
This is the Charlotte Museum of History in Charlotte, North Carolina. There are over 10,000 American historical objects, papers and photographs in the museum’s collection and 3,104 on display in the historic buildings and museum exhibits. Visitors can also...
Format: image/photograph
Cities and public architecture
In North Carolina in the New South, page 5.7
In this activity, students compare photographs of public buildings in Charlotte before and after industrialization and the growth of the city in the late nineteenth century to learn about industrial wealth and the culture of the Gilded Age.
Format: article
Clownfish in anenomes in a Discovery Place display
Clownfish in anenomes in a Discovery Place display
This is a clownfish in anenomes in a display at Discovery Place. Discovery Place is located in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Format: image/photograph
The cockpit of a Piedmont Airlines DC-3 at the Carolinas Aviation Museum
The cockpit of a Piedmont Airlines DC-3 at the Carolinas Aviation Museum
This is the cockpit of a Piedmont Airlines DC-3 at the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina. Over the past decade the Museum has developed an impressive collection of over forty-five major aircraft, and a wealth of other artifacts. It also...
Format: image/photograph
Conditions at Camp Greene
In North Carolina in the early 20th century, page 3.8
This speech was given by Sherman E. Burroughs, a U.S. Representative from New Hampshire. In his speech, Burroughs protested the unsanitary conditions at Camp Greene, an army camp located outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. Includes historical background and commentary.
Format: speech/primary source
Court House, Charlotte, 1888
Court House, Charlotte, 1888
The "old court house" in Charlotte, 1888.
Format: image/photograph
Court house, Charlotte, 1899
Court house, Charlotte, 1899
The "new court house" in Charlotte, 1898.
Format: image/photograph
Diary of a doughboy
In North Carolina in the early 20th century, page 3.9
Excerpts from a diary written by Willard Newton, who served in the U.S. Army in France during World War I. Describes trench warfare and conditions along the front. Includes historical background and commentary.
Format: diary/primary source
Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.
Downtown Charlotte, North Carolin
Downtown Charlotte, North Carolin
Part of the Charlotte skyline seen from the Westin Hotel.
Format: image/photograph
Electric streetcars
In North Carolina in the early 20th century, page 1.2
North Carolina's first electric streetcar systems were built between 1889 and 1902. The new form of transportation changed the layout of cities.
Format: article
Federation of Home Demonstration Clubs of Mecklenburg County on first anniversary of its organization
Federation of Home Demonstration Clubs of Mecklenburg County on first anniversary of its organization
In this black and white photo, a large group of women pose on the steps of a brick building with three archways. They are all wearing long dresses and hats. They are members of the Federation of Home Demonstration Clubs of Mecklenburg County and are celebrating...
Format: image/photograph
A giant digestive tract at Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC
A giant digestive tract at Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC
This is a giant walk-through digestive tract at Discovery Place in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Format: image/photograph
Hezekiah Alexander House
Hezekiah Alexander House
Hezekiah Alexander House, completed in 1774. Hezekiah Alexander owned as many as thirteen slaves, a number that placed him in the top 1 percent of slaveholders in late eighteenth-century Mecklenburg County. Alexander's labor force was the simple fact that...
Format: image/photograph
The impact of busing in Charlotte
In Postwar North Carolina, page 4.9
Interviews with former white and black students in Charlotte schools about their experiences before and after desegregation. Includes historical background.
Format: interview/primary source
Commentary and sidebar notes by Dayna Durbin Gleaves and David Walbert.
Latrelle MacAllister on desegregation
Latrelle MacAllister is an African-American woman who attended West Charlotte High School in Charlotte, North Carolina from 1973 until 1976, during the first years of integration. She speaks about her experiences of both segregated and integrated schools during...
Format: audio/interview
Meck Dec Day in Charlotte
Meck Dec Day in Charlotte
Reenactors at "Meck Dec Day," the celebration of the anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence on May 20, 1775.
Format: image/photograph
The Mecklenburg Resolves
In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 3.3
On receiving news of Lexington and Concord in May 1775, the Mecklenburg County Committee of Safety adopted these "resolves," or resolutions, declaring all royal authority to be suspended. Includes historical commentary.
Format: document/primary source