LEARN NC

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

Field trip opportunities in New Hanover County

Airlie Gardens
Environmental education programs in a beautiful setting can be found at this public garden in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Battleship North Carolina
Uses a variety of formats including oral histories, video footage, and zoomable images to cover the history of the USS North Carolina and other naval vessels afloat during WWII.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Bellamy Mansion Museum of History and Design Arts
A spectacular example of antebellum architecture, this home was commandeered by Federal troops after the fall of Fort Fisher during the Civil War. The Bellamy Mansion is now a museum that focuses on history and the design arts and offers tours.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Burgwin-Wright House Museum and Gardens
Visitors will enjoy the fine detail of the Georgian style architecture, the 18th and early 19th century furnishings and stories of the people who have lived in this house.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Cameron Art Museum
Visit the Cameron Art Museum and see its wonderful “collection of fine art, design and crafts, including significant holdings of historical and contemporary work by North Carolina artists, designers and artisans.”
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Cape Fear Museum of History and Science
The estimated 40,000+ artifacts in the collection of the Cape Fear Museum of History and Science relate to the history, science and cultures of the Lower Cape Fear.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Cape Fear River Watch
Offer several opportunities for environmental education and community development which include hands-on experiences for field trip groups.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Cape Fear Serpentarium
Find some of the world's rarest reptiles at this museum located in downtown Wilmington.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Carolina Beach State Park
Developed in the late 1960s, this state park preserves the unique environment along the Intracoastal Waterway. The Venus Flytrap and other plant life, the dunes, birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals are all protected in this special place.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Carolina Ocean Studies
A visit to the beautiful barrier islands and ocean reefs of North Carolina will help students understand the importance of our coastal environment and the habitat of the creatures that live there.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Fort Fisher
Photos of artifacts and the Fort Fisher oceanfront as well as several Civil War battle maps. Also contains information about the river defenses, running the blockade, the attacks on Fort Fisher, and the aftermath. Additionally, there is a section that explains the role of Fort Fisher during WWII.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Fort Fisher State Recreation Area
The Fort Fisher program introduces students to the habitat and life history of "colonial-nesting coastal birds." The program also focuses on endangered, threatened and special-concern bird species.

Format: article/field trip opportunity
Latimer House and Archives
This historic home takes visitors back in time to the elegant era of upper class Wilmington in the mid-1800s.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
MarineQuest
Ocean education and marine environmental education programs providing "hands-on, feet-wet, high-tech" experiences for K-12 students.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Masonboro Island
One of the four sites of the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve. Interpreter led field trips must be reserved two seasons ahead. This is a favorite field trip for many teachers.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
North Carolina Aquariums
Visit one of the three North Carolina Aquariums and learn about the "diverse natural and cultural resources associated with North Carolina's ocean, estuaries, rivers, streams, and other aquatic environments."
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Poplar Grove Plantation
Students will enjoy touring the big house and tenant farmer's cabin, the craft shops, and the blacksmith's shop at Poplar Grove Plantation.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Sea Grant North Carolina
With a variety of research and outreach programs, this organization provides several educational opportunities for marine science educators including workshops, marine science and environmental education curriculum development, research opportunities and grants, and field trips.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Wilmington Railroad Museum
Learn about the historical development of railroads in the Wilmington area with the eclectic collection of displays at the Wilmington Railroad Museum.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Wilmington's Children's Museum
Younger students will enjoy exploring the Wilmington's Children's Museum with its many hands-on exhibits.
Format: article/field trip opportunity
Zeke's Island North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve
Part of the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve, Zeke's Island has interpreter led field trips which focus on the importance of estuaries to the North Carolina coast.
Format: article/field trip opportunity

Learn more about New Hanover County

Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington, North Carolina
Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington, North Carolina
This is the USS North Carolina in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Format: image/photograph
Bellamy Mansion Museum of History and Design Arts in Wilmington, NC
Bellamy Mansion Museum of History and Design Arts in Wilmington, NC
This is the Bellamy Mansion Museum of History and Design Arts in Wilmington, North Carolina. This mansion is a premier architectural and historical treasure in North Carolina, a spectacular example of antebellum architecture. The Bellamy Mansion offers tours,...
Format: image/photograph
Bicycles: Scourge of the streets?
In North Carolina in the New South, page 5.4
Newspaper editorials about a collision between a bicylclist and a pedestrian in Wilmington, North Carolina, 1897. Includes historical commentary.
Format: newspaper/primary source
The Bottle House at Airlie Gardens in Wilimington, North Carolina
The Bottle House at Airlie Gardens in Wilimington, North Carolina
This is the Bottle House at Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina. The Bottle House is made entirely of glass bottles stacked with the bottom facing outward and set by mortar.
Format: image/photograph
The Burgwin-Wright House in Wilmington, NC
The Burgwin-Wright House in Wilmington, NC
This is the Burgwin-Wright House in Wilmington, North Carolina. Built upon the foundation of the old jail, the Burgwin-Wright House was built in 1770 by John Burgwin, a planter, merchant, and treasurer of the colony of Carolina. It was occupied by Lord Cornwallis...
Format: image/photograph
Detail of the Bottle House in Airlie Gardens, Wilmington, North Carolina
Detail of the Bottle House in Airlie Gardens, Wilmington, North Carolina
This is a detail of the Bottle House in Airlie Gardens, Wilmington, North Carolina. The Bottle House is made entirely of glass bottles stacked with the bottom facing outward and set by mortar.
Format: image/photograph
Evacuation before Hurricane Floyd
Evacuation before Hurricane Floyd
Wilmington, NC 9/15/1999 -- The exodus continued in the few hours before Hurricane Floyd hit Wilmington, with most of the traffic headed west out of harm's way.
Format: image/photograph
A flower in Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina
A flower in Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina
This is a flower in Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Format: image/photograph
Giant sloth skeleton peeking through a window at the Cape Fear Museum
Giant sloth skeleton peeking through a window at the Cape Fear Museum
A giant sloth skeleton peers out of a window, greeting visitors to the Cape Fear Museum of History and Science in Wilmington, North Carolina. Originally created by the Daughters of the Confederacy as a “creditable museum of Confederate relics”, the Cape...
Format: image/photograph
Going to the movies
In North Carolina in the early 20th century, page 6.12
Newspaper article about the first "talkie" shown in Wilmington, North Carolina, 1929. Includes historical background and commentary.
Format: newspaper/primary source
The Great Depression and World War II
Primary sources and readings explore the history of North Carolina and the United States during the Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945).
Format: book (multiple pages)
Hysteria in Wilmington
In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 9.8
Excerpt from the diary of Moses Ashley Curtis, a Wilmington tutor. Curtis describes the response of Wilmington residents to the threat of a slave insurrection in September, 1831, after Nat Turner's Rebellion. Includes historical commentary.
Format: diary/primary source
J. Allen Kirk on the Wilmington Race Riot
In North Carolina in the New South, page 8.6
Account of the Wilmington Race Riot by the Rev. Dr. J. Allen Kirk, pastor of the Central Baptist Church. Kirk and his family hid in a graveyard from the white mob, then fled the city. Primary source includes historical commentary.
Format: pamphlet/primary source
A Komodo Dragon at the Cape Fear Serpentarium in Wilmington, NC
A Komodo Dragon at the Cape Fear Serpentarium in Wilmington, NC
This is a Komodo Dragon at the Cape Fear Serpentarium in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Format: image/photograph
Letter from an African American citizen of Wilmington to the President
In North Carolina in the New South, page 8.5
Letter to President William McKinley, describing the Wilmington Race Riot and asking him to intervene and "send relief." Includes historical commentary.
Format: letter/primary source
Masonboro Sound at dusk
Masonboro Sound at dusk
This is Masonboro Sound at dusk. The nearby Masonboro Island is a pristine barrier island that can be reached only by boat. It is one of the four sites of the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Format: image/photograph
The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, NC
The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, NC
This is a giant fish tank at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, North Carolina. There are aquariums at Fort Fisher, Pine Knoll Shores, and Roanoke Island.
Format: image/photograph
North Carolina History: A Sampler
A sample of the more than 800 pages of our digital textbook for North Carolina history, including background readings, various kinds of primary sources, and multimedia. Also includes an overview of the textbook and how to use it.
Format: (multiple pages)
North Carolina in the Civil War and Reconstruction
Primary sources and readings explore North Carolina during the Civil War and Reconstruction (1860–1876). Topics include debates over secession, battles and strategies, the war in North Carolina, the soldier's experience, the home front, freedom and civil rights for former slaves, Reconstruction, and the "redemption" of the state by conservatives.
Format: book (multiple pages)
North Carolina in the early 20th century
Primary sources and readings explore North Carolina in the first decades of the twentieth century (1900–1929). Topics include changes in technology and transportation, Progressive Era reforms, World War I, women's suffrage, Jim Crow and African American life, the cultural changes of the 1920s, labor and labor unrest, and the Gastonia stirke of 1929.
Format: book (multiple pages)