North Carolina Museum of History, 5 East Edenton Street in Raleigh, is free to visit. It’s open every day, with the following exceptions:
Closed New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.
As of September 10th, 2020, the North Carolina Museum of History has reopened.
It will be operating at 50% of capacity, but tickets are not required.
In addition, it’s set up some special hours for people who are immune-compromised, and senior citizens.
- Tuesday to Saturday: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.: For immune-compromised and senior citizens
- Tuesday to Saturday: 11 a.m. to 5 pm.: General public
- Sunday: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.: General public
Here’s a summary of the new safety procedures:
- Limiting visitors to 250 people at a time in the museum, to allow a comfortable visit to the museum.
- Requiring cloth masks to enter the museum, as outlined in Executive Order 163.
- All exhibits will be open except the smaller Tar Heel Junior Historian Discovery Gallery.
- Installing hand sanitizer stations and increasing the frequency of cleaning high touch public areas and restrooms.
- Installing protective barriers at sales counters and information desks.
- Museum Shop will be open with reduced hours and limited capacity.
- Interactive exhibit features will be paused or modified.
- A map will highlight safety measures (sanitizer stations) and paused or “no-touch” (removed or blocked) visitor experiences. A QR code will be available for a touchless experience.
History at Home
For those who need to explore from home, or who would like to supplement their visit to the Museum, there is History at Home, a collection of online resources for anyone interested in experiencing the North Carolina Museum of History digitally.
Some of History at Home:
- Digital tours of exhibits
- Videos on demand bring history to life through conversations with historians across North Carolina
- At-Home Learning Packets include background information, articles, videos, and activities which meet North Carolina Social Studies and English/Language Arts standards on topics in North Carolina history. These at-home packets are designed for individual student use at home.
- Coloring pages from artifacts from the collections
- Bits of History podcasts cover a wide range of subjects related to North Carolina’s history and culture
- A Storied Past: North Carolina’s African American History is a video series that offer you a closer view of the American story shaped in North Carolina
- Carolina Cover to Cover is a resource for students in Kindergarten through third grade
- Collections: search for the museum’s artifacts in the collections
- Blog: Discovery how drastically things have changed (or haven’t) in North Carolina, and learn about lesser-known figures and events from North Carolina
You can find all of the above on the History at Home page.
Online Events with North Carolina Museum of History
20th Annual African American Cultural Celebration
Saturday, January 30th, 2021
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Free (follow above link to register for sessions)
Join the Museum for their 20th Annual African American Cultural Celebration, the statewide kickoff to Black History Month in Raleigh. Named a Top 20 Event by the Southeast Tourism Society since 2015, this year’s annual celebration will bring together community organizations, authors, artists, musicians, filmmakers, and scholars to showcase the contributions that African Americans, past and present, have made to North Carolina’s history and culture. This year’s digital format will allow the Museum of History to share those contributions in a safe environment to a statewide audience. The theme Health and Healing will include a range of information about health disparities and about steps that African Americans can take to promote and preserve their health.
Tar Heel Tales: Ruth and the Green Book
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021
1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Free (follow above link to register)
This virtual program is for individual children and families and is designed to make learning history fun and interactive. Ages 5 and up; parents are encouraged to participate with their children during the program. Travel along with Ruth and her parents as they drive south to visit family in the 1950s. Listen to this story and find out how they steer around people who are unfriendly to Black travelers and where they find friends along the way.
See a copy of the real Green Book at the museum this month. And, get ready for our program with your own copy of Ruth and the Green Book, by author Calvin A. Ramsey and illustrator Floyd Cooper—purchase it through the Museum Shop, in person or online.
History + Highballs: History of Videri and Bean-to-Bar Chocolate
Thursday, February 4th, 2021
7 p.m.
Free (follow above link to register)
Learn how Videri started its journey in the bean-to-bar world of chocolatiers, how the company gives back to the community, what’s next for them—and more.
History + Highballs is an early-evening adults-only virtual program designed to investigate some of North Carolina’s more fascinating stories, places, and characters. So grab a favorite evening libation and tune in to these events. Not sure how to make a mixed drink or what drink to mix? The series includes a quick introduction on mixed drinks, alongside the historical lecture. Talks are accompanied with media, when available, and followed by a short audience Q&A session.
History Corner: Charlotte Hawkins Brown—Dreamer-Doer-Teacher-Leader!
Wednesday, February 10th, 2021
1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Free (follow above link to register)
This virtual program is for individual children and families and is designed to make learning history fun and interactive. Ages 6–9; parents are invited to participate with their children during the program Guest co-teacher: Sonya Laney, Education Coordinator, Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum. Math and manners as weapons? Take a lesson from Dr. Brown, who started a school and taught her students ways to change a segregated society.
History Hunters: North Carolina and the Green Book
Wednesday, February 17th, 2021
1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Free (follow above link to register)
This virtual program is for individual children and families and is designed to make learning history fun and interactive. Ages 10–13. Guest teacher: Angela Thorpe, Director, NC African American Heritage Commission.
Come along on our trip through a history of the Green Book, a guide that helped African Americans forge ways around segregation. If you can make it, view a copy of the Green Book—at the museum all this month!
Current Exhibits
- You Have to Start a Thing
- Toy Boom: Toys from the 1950s and 1960s
- Collecting Carolina
- Law and Justice: The Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1819-2019
- The Green Book Lobby Case
- The Story of North Carolina
- 1920s Drugstore
- North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame
- History in Every Direction: Tar Heel Junior Historian Association Discovery Gallery
- History of the Harvest
- David Marshall “Carbine” Williams
- Meet the Statues
The museum hosts a number of events every month. You can see the full list here. Some are free and some have a fee.
Double-Check Before You Head Out!
We make every effort to make sure that everything on Triangle on the Cheap is 100% accurate.
However, sometimes things change without notice, and it's also possible that we can make a mistake. In addition, we can not guarantee that all events adhere to the safety measures that are necessary at this time, so we encourage you to ask any questions of the organizer, to make your best decision, and to stay safe.
Please verify all deals and events with the venue or organizer before you go.
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Upcoming Events in the Triangle -- both virtual and in-person
Check out our full events calendar, where you can enter any date, or look at the events for the next few days here:Friday, March 5, 2021
Saturday, March 6, 2021
Sunday, March 7, 2021
Virtual
