From the mountains to the coast, 58 institutions across the state have been awarded a total of $2.4 million in grants as part of the North Carolina Science Museums Grant Program, including the Museum of Coastal Carolina, Ingram Planetarium and Bald Head Island Conservancy.
The program is one of the many ways that the state of North Carolina invests in sustaining and advancing one of the most diverse and widespread networks of science museums in the country. Grants were awarded based on 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.
The Museum of Coastal Carolina was awarded $32,110.14 through the program, while the Ingram Planetarium was awarded $25,055.87 and Bald Head Island Conservancy received $25,546.83.
“The North Carolina Science Museums Grant Program helps fund critical science education in all parts of our state,” said Pamela B. Cashwell, secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR). “These grants will increase access to STEM experiences no matter where you live in North Carolina.”
The awards, which ranged from $11,338.50 to $75,000, were applied to the 2025–2026 fiscal year budgets of these institutions with similar awards in the new fiscal year. A full list of institutions receiving grant awards is below.
“North Carolina has more science museums than any other state and this funding supports them as they advance informal science education,” said Denise Young, director of the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, a division of DNCR.
