Cape Lookout National Seashore

Students will learn about the barrier islands and their importance to the protection of the state of North Carolina. They will also learn about the historical use of the island as well as the plants and animals that can be found there.

Preview your trip on the web: Cape Lookout National Seashore

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• Queen Anne's Revenge Investigating, interpreting and conserving the remains of Blackbeard's flagship.
• Lesson plan: Writing a Ghost Story/ Mystery Building upon the students' knowledge base of Blackbeard the Pirate, the numerous shipwrecks off of the N.C. coast, myths, and legends of the Carolinas, and/or The Lost Colony, students will write a ghost story or mystery narrative of their own.
• Lesson plan: Avast Ye Mateys - Learning about BlackBeard the Pirate Using both print and Internet sources, students will explore a collection of information associated with Pirates and Blackbeard, in conjunction with their studies of North Carolina History. Students will explore and read a variety of books from the library and will access a controlled collection of websites regarding Blackbeard the Pirate within to complete a Scavenger Hunt. Scavenger Hunt can be completed as a group in the computer lab, or independently on classroom computers.
• North Carolina Maritime Museum Students will learn about the rich maritime history of the North Carolina coast as well as the coastal environment and barrier island ecology.

Related pages

• Fort Macon State Park: This area of undisturbed natural beauty is the perfect place to explore salt marshes and estuaries vital to the coastal ecosystem. Students can also visit the fort to learn about its historical significance to North Carolina.
• Jockey's Ridge State Park: Experience a world of the shifting sands and a barren, desert environment as well as an estuarine environment of the tidal waters of the Roanoke Sound at Jockey's Ridge State Park in Nags Head, North Carolina.
• Singletary Lake State Park: The Singletary Lake program introduces students to the unique geology of Carolina bays.

Related topics

• Learn more about Blackbeard, Carteret County, North Carolina, Outer Banks, barrier islands, biology, environmental science, geology, horses, life-saving operations, lighthouses, loggerheard turtles, natural environment, natural history, and parks.

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The seashore is a 56-mile long section of the Outer Banks of North Carolina running from Ocracoke Inlet on the northeast to Beaufort Inlet on the southeast. The three undeveloped barrier islands which make up the seashore - North Core Banks, South Core Banks and Shackleford Banks - may seem barren and isolated, but they offer many natural and historical features that can make a visit very rewarding.

The national park has on-site programs on lighthouses and lighthouse keepers, sea turtles, and the island’s wild horses. If your school group (grades 1-12) cannot come to Cape Lookout, they offer traveling trunks. These trunks come filled with hands-on activities and a curriculum guide.

School project help: to assist students in gathering information for their class projects, free copies of park brochures are available online.

Also see the Southern Coastal Heritage Program 2001’s Virtual Field Trip.

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