https://www.discoverdairy.com/adopt-a-cow/

Are your students learning about life cycles or exploring how parents and offspring are alike and different? If so, sign up for the Adopt A Cow program where your classroom will "adopt" a calf and follow it's first year through a series of shared photos and stories.  

https://animalparknc.org/

Visit the Animal Park Conservation Center where tour guides will take your students on a one-hour guided tour, introducing them to over 20 species and connecting their characteristics and adaptations to your grade level-specific science concepts. Examples of field trip topics include:

Spots, Stripes, and Animal Types (kindergarten): From big to small, cats to dogs, and spotted to striped, observe and compare the differing physical characteristics of our animals.

My Habitat and Me (1st grade): Learn about the individual needs of our animals and how they are met through the specific characteristics of their environments.

Growing Up Wild (2nd grade): Meet animals from young to old, discovering how they grow and change throughout their lives.

Survival Secrets (4th grade): Recognize the specialized adaptations of a variety of species that allow them to survive and thrive in their wild worlds.

Eco-Connections (5th grade): From apex predators to keystone species, explore how our animals interact with the other plants and animals found in their ecosystems.

https://carolinaraptorcenter.org/

Educational programs allow students to meet some of the animals at Carolina Raptor Center and learn about topics such as Native American culture, falconry, bird migration patterns, and the physics of flight. On-site field trip presentations feature three or four raptors on a glove, which can be substituted with an eagle, vulture, or flighted bird for an additional fee. Activities can include story time with raptor-themed books for younger learners, an owl pellet examination, and more. Field trips include admission to the Raptor Trail. 

https://thelazy5ranch.com/

Take a guided wagon ride through the Lazy 5 Ranch while encountering about over 750 animals from 6 different continents. The ranch has birds, domestic farm animals and exotic species such as peacocks, giraffes, rhinos, potbellied pigs, kangaroos, camels, llamas, and much more.

https://www.nczoo.org/

Visit the North Carolina Zoo to encounter over  1,800 animals in habitats ranging from Africa’s grasslands to North America’s forests. 

https://wildwnc.org/

Visit the Western Carolina Nature Center to view over 60 species of native animals, including river otters, black bears, red pandas, red and gray wolves, and cougars! While at the center, enjoy the outdoors and get involved in STEAM, or let the Nature Center come to you through outreach programs and distance learning virtual programs.  

Guided programs are available Monday through Friday from September to April.

https://www.zootasticpark.com/field-trips.html

Take a trip to visit Zootastic to learn about animals and conservation.  Field Trips Consist of the Following:

• Educational Zoo Movie 

• Walk Through the Zoo

• Wagon Ride

• Time in the Barnyard with our Petting Zoo

https://ashevillescience.org/

Visit the Asheville Museum of Science to explore the Colburn Hall of Minerals, STEAM Lab (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) and Maker Space, astronomy and climate virtual display, a dinosaur skeleton, and the main exhibit hall, which includes interactive astronomy and climate virtual displays, French Broad water table, landscape sand table, forestry tree climb, and more!

https://catawbascience.org/

The Catawba Science Center is a 35,000 sq. ft. science and technology children’s museum that offers various rotating hands-on exhibits, salt and freshwater aquarium galleries, and the Millholland state-of-the-art digital planetarium. Also, your class can experience hands-on learning sessions on various science and technology topics. If you cannot visit the Catawba Science Center, you can have them come to your school.

https://kids.discoveryplace.org/huntersville

Discovery Place Kids offers hands-on learning experiences for Kindergarten to Second Grade students. Programs are designed to enhance classroom education for young children by providing opportunities to develop fine and large motor skills, expand imaginations and improve children's social skills through pretend play activities.

https://nature.discoveryplace.org/

Discovery Place Nature is great for kindergarten to second-grade students to encounter fur, fun, and feathers. Young learners will experience the natural world in an environment that encourages hands-on exploration and self-directed learning, as well as see various animals and walk among nature on short trails and the nature pavilion.

https://science.discoveryplace.org/

Discovery Place Science is a hands-on science museum where science comes alive! This science museum features aquariums, an indoor rainforest, various science exhibits, and labs.   Discovery Place Science also houses the largest IMAX Dome Theater in the Carolinas called the Charlotte Observer IMAX Dome Theater, otherwise known as the OMNIMAX Theater. 

https://earth.appstate.edu/mckinney-teaching-museum

The F. Kenneth & Marjorie J. McKinney Geology Teaching Museum is a teaching and outreach initiative of the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Appalachian State University.  You can bring classes to the Geology Teaching Museum to learn about fossils and minerals, as well as visit the Appstate campus.

OPEN  - 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday-Friday 

EVENINGS DURING ANSWERSPHERE (when you can ask questions or identify rocks and minerals)

To set up a field trip, fill out the GES Outreach Request Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdg9YPbibk_1oCVwtjXJ3YRHWQV3MOPUg0vo4k9qwVeu4WVVA/viewform

https://www.greensboroscience.org/

The Greensboro Science Center features an aquarium, museum, zoo, zipline, and treetop adventure park for students. It also hosts the OmniSphere Theater, where students can learn about space, constellations, and other scientific topics.

https://www.hickoryaviationmuseum.org/

The Hickory Aviation Museum is dedicated to the Golden Age of Aviation.  Admission is free during museum hours, where visitors can explore aviation artificts and memorabilia of famous aviation figures, time periods in history, and various airplanes. 

https://kaleideum.org/

The Kaleideum Children's Museum features interactive, hands-on science experiences, a planetarium that also hosts laser shows, and an environmental park. 

https://www.linvillecaverns.com/

Explore Linville Caverns to learn about rocks and minerals.  Field trips will include small group tours of the caverns lasting approximately 30 minutes. Combine this trip with nearly  Linville Gorge Wilderness area to learn more about the NC mountains and rock formations.

https://www.marbleskidsmuseum.org/

Marbles is a hands-on museum where play is fun and educational. The museum features innovative hands-on exhibits, special programs, and larger-than-life movie at their IMAX theatre. 

http://mineralmuseum.org/

The Mineral and Lapidary Museum in Hendersonville focuses on the earth sciences related to geology and paleontology.  The museum has exhibits that include specimens of raw minerals in their natural state and polished gemstones, fossils, and the Hendersonville Meterioite. 

https://moreheadplanetarium.org/explore/exhibits/

The Morehead Planetarium and Science Center features various hands-on science exhibits in areas such as exploring Public Health, Astronomy, Marine Science, Plant Ecology, and Biomedical Engineering, science LIVE! shows, learning labs, and enrichment experiences.  Visit the planetarioum to watch shows to learn more space and other science content areas. 

https://www.lifeandscience.org/

The Museum of Life and Science includes several interactive experiences, such as the  Dinosaur Trail, Ellerbe Creek Railway, Hideaway Woods, Into the Mist, Earth Moves, and Aerospace, which features one of the largest Apollo-era NASA artifact collections in North Carolina. The Museum also hosts a zoo with rescued black bears, endangered red wolves, lemurs, and more than 60 species of live animals.

https://naturalsciences.org/

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is the largest museum of its kind in the Southeast. Admission to the museum is free, and has virtual tours that can be completed for various exhibits. The museum features permanent and special exhibits such as live animals,  dinosaurs, whale skeletons, walk-through dioramas, hands-on science education activities, and accessible scientists from which to ask questions and learn about science.

https://www.nctransportationmuseum.org/

Visit the NC Transportation Museum to learn about the science and history of how people move things throughout the world.  You can also take a train ride around our 60-acre historic site and see antique cars and trucks, and pieces of history in aviation (such as a replica of the Wright Brothers flyer and the restoration of a DC3 airplane).

https://historicsites.nc.gov/all-sites/reed-gold-mine

The Reed Gold Mine was one of the first gold mines in the United States. Tour the gold mine, pan for gold, and explore trails, monuments, and exhibits.

https://www.schielemuseum.org/

The Schiele Museum of Nature focuses on regional wildlife & natural areas. The museum also has a  planetarium & a nature trail. Exhibits include prehistoric beasts from the Mesozoic Era, go on a fantastic journey to explore the wild cats of our world, innovate in our interactive children’s exhibit, and explore agricultural and environmental science in our outdoor exhibits. Classes visiting the museum can explore natural science exhibits, hands-on experiments, gemstone mining, and planetarium shows.