The holiday season is a great time to visit and also take relatives to see the vast array of venues that are within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. When the shopping, eating and watching football get to be too much, renew your spirit with a natural or cultural adventure.

The Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington will be open every day, even noon to 5 p.m. Christmas Day. Most N.C. State Parks will be open every day except Christmas Day, offering wholesome, refreshing family fun. Grandfather Mountain State Park will be open Christmas day with a Photo Scavenger Hunt at 3 p.m, so you can test your new camera. Be sure to start the New Year off right also with a First Day hike Jan. 1, at a state park near you!

The N.C. Aquariums at Roanoke Island, Pine Knoll Shores and Kure Beach, and N.C. Zoological Park at Asheboro, will be open every day except Christmas as well.

You’ll find the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences open except for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Dec. 24-25, and New Year’s Day, Jan. 1. The N.C. Museum of History will be open except for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Jan. 1 and 2.

The N.C. Museum of Art galleries will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Dec. 24 and 25. The East Building and special “Rolling Sculpture” exhibition will be open Monday, Dec. 26. Both buildings will be open New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The Museum Park is open daily dawn to dusk. The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem will be closed Dec. 23-26 and Dec. 31-Jan 2.

State Historic Sites will be closed Dec. 24-26, and Jan. 1-2. The Museum of the Cape Fear in Fayetteville will be closed Dec. 24-25 and Jan. 1. The Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City will be closed Dec. 23-26, and Jan. 1-2. Mountain Gateway Museum in Old Fort will be closed Dec. 23-27 and Jan. 1-2.

The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras will be closed Dec. 23-27 and Jan. 2. The N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort will be closed Dec. 24-26 and Jan. 1. The N.C. Maritime Museum at Southport will be closed Dec. 23-27 and Jan. 2. Roanoke Island Festival Park will be closed Dec. 23-27 and closed for the season January through Feb. 27.

About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state’s natural and cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary Susan Kluttz, NCDNCR’s mission is to improve the quality of life in our state by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history, libraries and nature in North Carolina by stimulating learning, inspiring creativity, preserving the state’s history, conserving the state’s natural heritage, encouraging recreation and cultural tourism, and promoting economic development.

NCDNCR includes 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, two science museums, three aquariums and Jennette’s Pier, 39 state parks and recreation areas, the N.C. Zoo, the nation’s first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, State Preservation Office and the Office of State Archaeology, along with the Division of Land and Water Stewardship. For more information, please call (919) 807-7300 or visit www.ncdcr.gov.