Museum of Coastal Carolina

Fantastic experience: Lovely hands on sea life museum. Great for kids! Lovely team that works and volunteers! Every knowledgeable.

Fantastic experience: Nice quiet little museum. Great for kids or families! Doesn't take long to explore but is filled with many interesting facts and little activities about different fish and the coast!

Fantastic experience: Wonderful non commercialized alternative, my daughter loved the touch pool, will be back

Positive experience: Great place to visit especially if it’s raining during your visit. The shark scavenger hunt kept the kids busy. Their favorite part was touching the sea creatures. I would only plan for an hour maximum to keep the kids occupied. Parking was $5 for two hours but they do give you $5 off of a purchase of $10 or more in the gift shop. There an amazing playground right next to the museum so the kids loved that as well!

Positive experience: Small but very informative. Gentleman demonstrating by the crab tank was very helpful.

Positive experience: Good break from the beach. Better for younger kids (8 or younger). The scavenger hunt is great for the little ones!

Fantastic experience: Really fun little museum. Lots of interactive exhibits for kids to get hands on with. Neat information about local wildlife and history. There's a really great city park located right next to it for even more kid friendly fun.

Fantastic experience: Kids loved the scavenger hunt and coloring Sea creatures to add to the aquarium.

Fantastic experience: Daughter and niece had such a good time when we were trying to escape the harsh UV index for the day. All the employees and volunteers were so helpful and nice. We would definitely come back if we were in the area.

Fantastic experience: We visited today afternoon..very well done.thank you for the input from the volunteers. Thanks Dick For the fine information, and the aviation chat.

Negative experience: This review is for the front desk lady, who displayed racism and bias toward my 2-year-old son by yelling at him to leave the museum for touching an ornament. Yelling at a toddler is never appropriate, especially in a children's museum. Concerns should have been addressed with the parents, not the child. This is unacceptable. On the other hand, I want to applaud the man who helped my son in the touch tank - he was kind, patient, and inclusive.

Positive experience: So, it's a small place, so good for a kind of short visit! They have some wonderful people that answer curious kids questions!! Even when there are lots of questions! Had some fun extras for halloween.

Fantastic experience: Fun place for kids and adults. Loved the area to interact with the sea life.

Fantastic experience: Lovely small museum Friendly lovely staff and informative Great touch Tank which is brilliant for adults and children. Local history and details about animals too

Fantastic experience: Great open space for toddler to run around on a rainy day! Great exhibits and not at all crowded.

Fantastic experience: Great place to relax and enjoy history and fossils. They have a touch/Petting area for starfish and crabs. Fun little getaway and really great volunteers/staff.

Fantastic experience: This was a great outing for the kids. Plenty of stuff for all ages

Fantastic experience: The Museum of Coastal Carolina was a joy from the enthusiastic pun filled greeting to the patient explanations of sea life from the volunteers who fed the sea creatures in the petting tank. Great for family members young and old.

Fantastic experience: Stopped in after visiting the outdoor market. Opened at 11am. Enough to see and explore for 45 minutes. Oh, forgot the touch tank with starfish that kids could 2finger touch.

Fantastic experience: Super fun, kid friendly museum! Lot of hands on things for the kids.

Fantastic experience: Have to visit every year. The kids love the touch tank

Fantastic experience: The Snakes Alive program was awesome! Very informative, and the presenter was so generous to give everyone who wanted to the opportunity to touch/handle nonvenomous snakes. My whole family love it!

Fantastic experience: It was truly amazing...!!! I recommend everybody to go and check it out..!!!

Fantastic experience: When a storm drove us off the beach and the toddler missed their nap, the Museum of Coastal Carolina was there to save the afternoon! They have some fun small aquarium exhibits and several fun interactive activities, including one where you can color a sea animal, scan it, and see it come to life.

Fantastic experience: This is a our second time at Museum of Coastal Carolina. While it is a smaller establishment, it has a lot to offer and many hands-on exhibits. We enjoyed the Ocean Safety Program. Judy did an amazing job leading the very informative program. It only lasted about 20 minutes but covered many things and she made sure to include all the children.

Fantastic experience: I was pleasantly surprised by how engaging this was for the little ones in the group. I knew I would love it, but they're easily bored. As soon as we walked in, we were invited to complete a scavenger hunt, which they were excited about straightaway. They lost track of the scavenger hunt as they got more excited about the different exhibits. At the end of the day, they couldn't even pick a favorite thing about the museum because they loved it all!

Fantastic experience: I love it , the staff is nice they answered all my questions , there are a lot of stuff to see here

Fantastic experience: Great maritime museum! Was set up as a guest during their pirate week this year. Friendly staff and cute burrfish!

Fantastic experience: Great museum for kids 12 and under. It's small but worth it. We got in free with our local science center membership (Association of Science-Technology Center's Passport Program) and got a nice 3 hour break from the heat. They had a touch tank and on Saturday had a story time and craft.

Fantastic experience: This is a great place. We were able to utilize our benefit included in Durham Life and Science and enter for no additional cost. I recommend seeing this museum. There is a lot to see here and up to hands on.

Fantastic experience: My 6yo son really enjoyed this museum. Lots of stuff to look at and interact with, but not so much that he was overwhelmed.

Fantastic experience: I’m a local and needed to get the kids out today. I’ve not been to this place in mannnyyy years but I’m so glad we visited today! You can’t beat the price. So many hands on fun things for the kids! Sure it’s not fancy like ripleys in Myrtle but for a fourth of the price you really get a bang for your buck. More things for the kids “to do ” than the big fancy places. My kids usually run through the big aquariums and are done within 20 minutes. There’s so much for the kids to stop and do here that we could’ve easily spend an afternoon here. Very educational, clean and friendly! Love that it is specifically about the local waters, marsh and swamps! Even as a local I say visit this place!

Positive experience: It was neat. It would be great place to take small kids. A little pricey for what they have.

Fantastic experience: Wonderful staff who were very knowledgeable on many topics. The children really enjoyed the whole museum.

Fantastic experience: We loved visiting the Museum of Coastal Carolina! Hands on and interactive! Very friendly staff and enthusiastic about showing you around!

Fantastic experience: We have been here many times and always learn something new. Our 5 yo loves the "aquarium room" it feels like you're in the sea surrounded by creatures.

Fantastic experience: Amazed with all the cool exhibit, definitely worth a visit. Personally I liked it better than Fort Fisher.

Fantastic experience: Immersive, literally, and informative. Such a great collection and display of Carolina wildlife and sealife. Interactive displays build and understanding of tides, waves and watersheds. The tidepool and shell collection room will preoccupy you for much longer than you anticipate. Such a gem.

Fantastic experience: What a fantastic museum!! I learned so much from the displays!! Definitely worth your time!!

Fantastic experience: Very nice little museum. Very walkable if you are staying in the area, but also ample free parking if you are driving over to it. They have a combo ticket available with the Planetarium that is a good deal - just make sure you have time to do both. Interesting displays, hands on stuff for the kids, and a cool touch tank. If you are in the area would highly recommend stopping by.

Fantastic experience: We went with our 4 grandkids 6 years old and under. The kids loved it. Lots of hands on fun

Fantastic experience: This is a great museum for both children and adults. They have some very interesting animal displays as well as local history exhibits. It looks a bit small on the outside but there's actually a lot to see inside!

Fantastic experience: If I could leave more stars I would! This was such a wonderful time for my very busy 2 year old! He was able to interact, touch, and learn so much! This was our first visit and we will definitely be back! We enjoyed all the exhibits from the touch tank, to the animation of drawings and everything between! The staff was so friendly, and the experience could not have been better! Highly recommend this for families!

Fantastic experience: Great for the ticket price! Very educational!

Fantastic experience: My husband and I have visited several times over the years,and are NEVER disappointed! The staff is always friendly. It's a great place for kids to seniors. Kids have several interaction opportunities that are educational and fun. The touch tank and aquariums are always pristine and well tended to

Fantastic experience: Wonderful way to spend a few hours. Was very informative and interactive for both children and adults.

Fantastic experience: Pretty cool for the kids. They enjoyed it and learned alot.

Fantastic experience: We loved stomping out waste. We loved petting sea creatures. We made animated turtles. Loved the craft with Miss Judy. Thanks everyone for a great afternoon!!!

Fantastic experience: what a great museum to visit while on vacation. a great way to beat the heat and to learn while you're at it. the touch tank was very cool too. lots of stuff to look at and learn about, everything native to North Carolina. the staff was very helpful and super friendly. would go back again!

Fantastic experience: The little one loved it. Bigger than I expected. Was a fun thing to do with the little one while vacationing here!

Fantastic experience: A wonderful experience!!! Extremely informative with a section for a touch pool and another for sea turtle hatchings and preservation!!! Loved the diorama and statis display!!! Looking forward to visiting again!!!

Positive experience: Cute place that will buy you an hour of interest from your kids. Tickets were slightly overpriced for the size of the museum. My kids liked touching the sea creatures!

Fantastic experience: Great exhibits and activities. The guides were really friendly.

Fantastic experience: This has become one of my favorite museums. Lots of hand on exhibits plus lot of amazing info on loads of stuff about the NC coast. The 3d quest was equal fun and educational with great technology too.

Fantastic experience: Well curated museum that is perfect for elementary school aged kids. It was a fun 90 minutes for our 6 and 8 year olds and also interesting for us adults. The fun and easy scavenger hunt definitely helped entertain the kids. Perfect opportunity to get us out of the sun for a bit.

Positive experience: Pricey for what it has to offer, thought there would be more fish/live animals with proximity to the beach.

Fantastic experience: We had a great time here! The touch tank was so much fun and the volunteers in that space were stellar! We purchased combo tickets with the planetarium, and did the planetarium one day and the museum a few days later. The museum was far better suited for toddlers.

Positive experience: Very nice and educational experience for the family.

Positive experience: Extremely interesting. Friendly staff. The lady at the touch tank was so helpful and informative.

Fantastic experience: Great location to carry the entire family. Wonderful staff and very informative exhibits.

Fantastic experience: Wasn’t crowded at all on a Monday morning - great way to have quality time while it’s raining outside. My 3yo & 5yo enjoyed their time in a museum so much. From looking at exhibits, touching and holding starfish & other underwater creatures, to solving puzzles & playing a game in a virtual tank. Friendly & knowledgeable staff - would highly recommend! A bonus is a fenced playground right nextdoor. Free parking.

Fantastic experience: Been here twice now, pretty cool little place and we always buy the combo tickets that include the planetarium

Fantastic experience: A must-visit for vacationing families! Everyone enjoyed the this fun and educational museum. At the end of the tour we decided to retroactively add on the partnered planetarium trip, and a manager came out to accommodate our request. Highly recommended from our family!

Fantastic experience: Lower budget exhibits but VERY well done. A gem for the area.

Fantastic experience: Cute little place to visit if your in the area. Both my 5 year old and I enjoyed it and the staff members were great!

Fantastic experience: Was there for the kids activities at the festival yesterday, and took the grandchildren, who had a wonderful time doing doing the activities. Super engaged volunteers across the board, but special recognition to Ariel who engaged both young girls and young boys. The exhibits were awesome as usual and everybody learned at least a few new things!

Positive experience: Spent about 2 hours here with my 2 and 5 yo. They both loved the touch and feel tank! Also really enjoyed coloring and putting their pictures into the projector where it came to life on the big screen. Ocean Isle is a really cute town and would definitely go back.

Fantastic experience: Great little museum about coastal life. One of the best touch tanks we've seen, including at big aquariums - they have urchins, starfish, hermit crabs, horseshoe crabs, anemones, conches, whelks and puffer fish! Excellent shell displays. They are affiliated with a small planetarium about 10 min drive away, which we didn't visit this time. Would recommend and hope we can return.

Fantastic experience: Great place to take kids. Staff was awesome and patient with kids taking time to talk with them and let them experience the animals. We had a 4 year old, almost 6 yo, and 10 mo, and all of them had a blast. Do recommend even for adults!

Positive experience: Interesting way to learn about the history and biodiversity of the area. Seems slightly overpriced for what it is. Nice little gift shop. The staff was friendly, but unfortunately the young woman in the first shark room was over-friendly and wouldn’t stop talking or leave us alone to look at the exhibits. We would have liked to learn more about sharks, but she wouldn’t stop following us and oversharing about her life story.

Positive experience: A small child would probably enjoy. There were only maybe 3 or 4 room to view. Largest display was not really animals in a huge room that looked like under the sea

Fantastic experience: Went to see a informative lecture on the African gullah community. So interesting to learn about the culture. Looking forward to future events.

Fantastic experience: Great place for any age. The cost was worth the experience and I would definitely recommend it.

Fantastic experience: The museum was very interesting and children could learn alot going there.

Fantastic experience: My family consisted of 6 adults and 4 kids. The kids ages range from 7yrs old to 11 months and everyone of us, young and old had a great time here. They have alot of interactive exhibits for all ages! All the volunteers that we met were super nice and very informative.

Fantastic experience: Much bigger and nicer than expected. Would be a great place to take kids.

Positive experience: Much more than we expected. Price was good also - especially with the combo ticket with the Planetarium.

Fantastic experience: I've been visiting this museum since I was a kid in the 90s. It is still fun and educational.

Fantastic experience: This was a great place for younger children with some great hands on activities. My 2.5yo enjoyed this museum much more than the NC Aquarium.

Fantastic experience: This is a very unique museum that is focused on sea life as well as other wildlife. It's much larger than it looks with huge spaces dedicated to exhibits including an entire "hands on" section for kids and families. The best part was the open air aquarium exhibit with all kinds of sea life, all alive and swimming or crawling and eating what they could find. We probably spent at least 45 minutes at that one exhibit. The volunteers were completely knowledgeable about everything which made it that much more fascinating and enjoyable! It is truly worth every penny of the $10 admission fee!

Fantastic experience: Cute little museum. We took our kids there while on vacation at holden beach. Our kids(4 &6) loved the little scavenger hunt they have for the kids and the draw your own sea animal was super cool!

Fantastic experience: Wonderful museum. I really wasn't expecting as many exhibits as they had. They had a lot of exhibits and plenty of staff to give the backstory of anything you were interested in. Our favorite room was where they have the touch tank and we could watch the fish swim.

Fantastic experience: So much was learned in a short time!!! Several topics to explore within many different areas of interest. The friendliest and most helpful staff. Lots of interaction with exhibits and an organized layout. A lot of fun, and we highly recommend!!!

Positive experience: Several buttons/exhibits werent working. Urchins the touch tank, no signing or anyone to tell so i couldnt let my child put her hand in since it was covered in them.

Fantastic experience: Just Beautiful ! Very neat and clean. Filled with lots of valuable information. Thank you soo much we had a wonderful time....

Fantastic experience: A wonderful museum with lots of good info of the coastal regions of the Carolinas. They also have great children's programs throughout the day.

Fantastic experience: Great day at the Museum. Their displays are all top notch and well put together. Everything from sharks and coastal things to indian artifacts. Theit bird displays were awesome. They even have a couple live displays. We did the last day of pirate week( Black Sails Adventure Co. ) and everyone seemed to have fun. The kids all left with smiles and some will temember it as the day they.....almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow

Fantastic experience: Great place to spend 1.5 to 2hr! You can tell the staff works hard to make the place fun for everyone.

Fantastic experience: Not bad, pretty cool exhibits and hands on things, the kids loved it, and as an adult I did too..

Fantastic experience: This was way cooler (and bigger) than expected! Every single staff member at the museum was delightful, helpful, kind, patient, and fantastic with kids. Chuck hooked us up with the combined ticket with the Ingram Planetarium and was just a blast to interact with. There's a lot of cool history in this place with some really fun and informative exhibits. Definitely worth the stop, rain or shine!

Fantastic experience: Loved the museum and the kids did to a great place to go on a hot summer day and yes my kids got to learn some new things on summer vacation

Fantastic experience: The kids really loved it and the scavenger hunt gave them a reason to pay attention throughout the whole museum and ask questions.

Positive experience: Neat museum with engaging exhibits around the history and science of the Carolina coastal region. Staff was very considerate. Definitely recommend if you are in the lower North Carolina coastal area.

Fantastic experience: Went near lunch on a Monday, not very crowded, was very relaxing and entertaining. Many interesting exhibits, especially the touch tank with the hermit crabs, sea stars, anemone, and horseshoe crabs! (And the cute little puffer fish, but you’re not supposed to touch those.) There’s also a very interesting interactive exhibit about topography and rainfall. And don’t miss out on the coloring/creating an aquatic creature to then scan and make part of the virtual fish tank! So cute and fun! Staff/Volunteers were all very kind and informative, eager to engage, and knowledgeable. Cute little gift shop at the end with fun little things, jewelry, and books. Also, you can do a combination ticket to go to Ingram Planetarium across the bridge, or to use for a second visit to the museum! 10/10 Highly recommend!

Fantastic experience: Groovy spot! Neat interactive things for the kids, very knowledgeable staff, a lil great artwork, & fun stations the kids also enjoyed. Great cool down for a hot day.

Fantastic experience: It was/is a great place for a family outing, afterwards across the street to the playground for an extra treat!

Fantastic experience: My son had a field trip here and learned so much about the ocean and everything that live in it

Fantastic experience: Wonderful, inexpensive, afternoon with kids. Also, they do schedule turtle talks and summer programs. Location is fabulous too. Across the parking lot to the town park, concert shell, and splash pad!

Fantastic experience: Went with my little girl school on a field trip! It was very cool to see all the animals! The park next door is great also!

Fantastic experience: Perfect little museum for a chilly beach day. GREAT FOR kids and we enjoyed it too. Totally handicap accessible