WNC science centers awarded NC Science Museum grants from ARPA funds

Dean Hensley, Hendersonville Times-News
·4 min read
Henderson County Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Wendy Frye dipped into the shark tank with Team ECCO staff during Clear Creek Elementary's field trip in the summer of 2021.
Henderson County Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Wendy Frye dipped into the shark tank with Team ECCO staff during Clear Creek Elementary's field trip in the summer of 2021.

RALEIGH — Fifty-five science centers across the state have been awarded a total of $6.3 million in special grants as part of the North Carolina Science Museums Grant Program, and included in that list are six counties in Western North Carolina — Henderson, Buncombe, Transylvania, Rutherford, Avery and Macon.

For Henderson County, Hands On! - A Child's Gallery (Hands On! Children's Museum) was awarded $106,619.86, and Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO received $71,884.28. In Buncombe County, the awards were as follows: The North Carolina Arboretum Society, $127,048.34; Asheville Museum of Science, $122,961.09 and Friends of the WNC Nature Center, $96,904.49.

Radio telescopes look skyward at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) north of Rosman.
Radio telescopes look skyward at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) north of Rosman.

For Transylvania County, Cradle of Forestry Heritage Site was awarded $117,770.91, and Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute got $106,789.89.

Funding for these special grants is made possible by the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) as directed by the 2021 State Budget, according to an Oct. 6 press release. Grants were awarded based on state-legislated criteria that promote the priorities of state government, with a primary goal of enhancing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education opportunities for the public, particularly in low-resource communities.

A trail near Bent Creek Road at the N.C. Arboretum.
A trail near Bent Creek Road at the N.C. Arboretum.

“The North Carolina Science Museums Grant Program helps fund crucial science education across our state,” said D. Reid Wilson, secretary of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, in the release. “This investment of federal funds by the legislature and the Governor will increase access to STEM experiences no matter where you live in North Carolina.”

The awards ranged from $70,000 to $185,000 and will be applied to spending in a federal timeline for ARPA funding that covers expenditures from 2022 through 2025 at these science centers.

“The great work of these museums continues to place our state at the forefront of informal science education nationally and these grants support that endeavor,” said Darrell Stover, Head of the North Carolina Science Museums Grant Program at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in the release.

The rest of the centers receiving funds is listed below:

Avery County

Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, $144,439.59

Macon County

Highlands Nature Center & Botanical Garden, $147,672.18

Beaufort County

Aurora Fossil Museum Foundation, Inc., $173,163.02

North Carolina Estuarium, $129,395.62

Bertie County

Roanoke/Cashie River Center, $150,636.55

Brunswick County

Ocean Isle Museum Foundation, Inc., $144,460.21

Bald Head Island Conservancy, $123,008.16

Carteret County

Core Sound Waterfowl Museum, $133,850.50

Caswell County

Conservators Center, $126,111.92

Catawba County

Catawba Science Center, Inc., $106,363.61

Chatham County

Carolina Tiger Rescue, $104,765.26

Cumberland County

Friends of the Parks Foundation, Inc. (Fascinate-U Children's Museum), $119,959.98

Cape Fear Botanical Garden, $107,028.71

Duplin County

Cowan Museum of History and Science, $123,908.56

Durham County

North Carolina Museum of Life and Science, $135,033.70

Sarah P. Duke Gardens, $76,488.53

Duke Lemur Center, $70,549.80

Forsyth County

Kaleideum, $97,148.45

Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden, $84,372.49

Gaston County

Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, $115,851.16

The Schiele Museum of Natural History, $111,180.63

Guilford County

Natural Science Center of Greensboro (Greensboro Science Center), $97,422.37

Greensboro Children's Museum, $95,650.63

Halifax County

Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park and Eco-Center, Inc., $185,242.83

Iredell County

Iredell Museums, $78,242.45

Allison Woods Outdoor Learning Center, $112,783.94

Mecklenburg County

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

Nash County

Rocky Mount Children's Museum, $127,042.80

New Hanover County

Cape Fear Museum of History and Science, $111,691.76

Airlie Garden, $108,077.69

Wilmington Children's Museum, Inc., $89,760.07

Onslow County

Sturgeon City of Jacksonville, $109,191.73

Orange County

North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation, Inc. on behalf of 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

Pasquotank County

Port Discover: Northeastern North Carolina's Center for Hands-on Science, $148,032.71

Pitt County

River Park North(RPN) Walter J. Stasavich Science and Nature Center, $116,926.86

Richmond County

Discovery Place Kids-Rockingham, $142,496.09

Robeson County

Exploration Station, $123,754.33

Rowan County

Rowan County Nature Center and Wildlife Adventures, $141,079.25

Rutherford County

KidSenses Children's Interactive Museum, $154,998.09

Surry County

Mount Airy Museum of Regional History, $109,931.68

Wake County

Marbles Kids Museum, $101,609.21

Wilson County

Science Museums of Wilson, Inc. (Imagination Station Science & History Museum), $126,450.12

For more information about the North Carolina Science Museums Grant Program, visit ncmuseumgrant.naturalsciences.org.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: WNC science centers awarded NC Science Museum grants from ARPA funds