For the fifth year in a row, Raleigh’s North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences ranks as the State’s most visited historic attraction according to the Carolina Publishing and Associates annual survey.
During 2018 the Museum reported 1,007,188 visitors. Fort Fisher State Historic Site in Kure Beach ranked second in the survey with 903,254 guests.
The 2018 survey is the 15th annual ranking. Biltmore, located in Asheville, no longer reports attendance totals, and are not included in the survey.
The North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro ranked third in the annual survey with 831,748 visitors. Rounding out the top five were Charlotte’s Discovery Place with 745,668 and Fort Macon State Park in Atlantic Beach with 677,408. The following is a list of the remaining top 30 museums and attractions with attendance totals.
6. Marbles Kids Museum, Raleigh, 659,239; 7. North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, 617,116; 8. North Carolina Museum of History,( Raleigh, Elizabeth City, Fayetteville, Albemarle) 612,561; 9. Museum of Life and Science, Durham, 543,653; and 10. North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, Kure Beach, 482,079.
11, North Carolina Arboretum, Asheville, 479,696; 12. Greensboro Science Center, Greensboro, 444,082; North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores, Pine Knoll Shores, 391,984; 14.Wright Brothers National Museum, Kill Devil Hills, 374,088; 15. North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoke Island, Manteo, 303,354; 16. Grandfather Mountain, Linville, 260,160; 17. Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, Manteo, 256,821; 18. North Carolina Maritime Museums, (Beaufort, Southport, Hatteras), 256,451; 19. Chimney Rock Park, Chimney Rock, 245,027 and 20. Tryon Palace, New Bern, 211,256.
21. Kaleideum,(Downtown & North) Winston-Salem, 188,947; 22. Old Salem Museums & Gardens, Winston-Salem, 187,239; 23. Battleship North Carolina, Wilmington, 186, 283; 24. Linville Caverns, Marion, NC 172,496; 25. Jennette’s Pier, Nags Head, 172,023; 26. NASCAR Hall of Fame, Charlotte, 158,848; 27. Cherokee Historical Association, Cherokee, 154,093; 28. North Carolina Transportation Museum, Spencer, 146,993; 29. Historic Bethabara Park, Winston-Salem, 146,993 and 30. Morehead Science Center and Planetarium, Chapel Hill, 127,670.
