History buffs and children will enjoy seeing a performance of "The Lost Colony" at Manteo. Visitors can picnic and explore Fort Macon at Atlantic Beach and Fort Fisher near Wilmington, both rich in Civil War history.
As Wilbur and Orville discovered at Kitty Hawk, ocean breezes and sand dunes provide perfect jumping off places. Whether flying kites, hang gliding, kite boarding, or para-sailing, sports enthusiasts find the venues at North Carolina beaches ideal.
Scenic rivers begin and end at North Carolina beaches. Riverboat cruises sail up the Cape Fear River past the Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington.
Fort Fisher's Aquarium boasts a living coral reef and one of only fifty albino alligators known to exist. Manteo's Aquarium offers alligators, sharks and sea otters. Atlantic Beach Aquarium traces rivers from the mountains to the ocean. There's even a waterfall. Kids will love petting horseshoe crabs.
At Beaufort, the Outer Banks, Atlantic Beach, Topsail or Carolina beach, kids and adults will love going out on a dolphin watch. They might see osprey, too.
One of the brightest places to visit at the North Carolina beaches is Ingrid Planetarium at Sunset Beach. Here families and school groups can discover the magic of the skies in its 85-seat Sky Theater.
