2024 Might Be the Museum’s Most Eventful Year Yet!

Left: The former Discovery Place Nature building, Center: Ceremonial Tree Planting -Pictured from left to right: Representative Mary Belk (NC), Commissioner Laura Meier (Mecklenburg County), Catherine Horne (Discovery Place CEO), Rich Campbell (DP Board of Trustees), Aditya Bhasin (DP Board of Trustees) and Dena Diorio (Mecklenburg County Manager). Right: Steel framing at the construction site

From Community Days in January to installing the last steel beam in December, the Nature Museum has made significant progress in just 12 months.

After offering free admission to the Nature Museum during January’s Community Farewell Days, Discovery Place began decommissioning the museum in February. To celebrate the start of construction on the new Nature Museum, Discovery Place and Mecklenburg County officials came together in May 2024 to plant the first of many new trees.

This month, we are “Topping Out” the new Nature Museum and installing the final steel beam—a significant milestone in construction progress.

Topping Out at Charlotte Museum of Nature

Looking Ahead to 2025 and Beyond

With the steel framing soon to be completed, we will have more pictures to show and progress to share in the new year as we prepare to cross the finish line on our fundraising campaign and complete construction! We couldn’t have gotten to this point without the support of our donors and our community, so thank you!

Please consider this e-newsletter your VIP access to updates on the new Nature Museum for Charlotte in the coming year.  You can also:

Fence Blades at Charlotte Museum of Nature

There’s Still Time to Showcase Your Love of Nature and Make an Impact

Be a part of Discovery Place’s new Nature Museum in the heart of Charlotte by adding your name to the Museum’s fence!

Our new Nature Museum will be fenced along the Little Sugar Creek Greenway in Freedom Park, from Princeton Road to the Museum’s entrance. Each wooden blade of the fence will include a metal plaque designed in a wave pattern.

Showcase your love of nature and support the new Museum by securing one of our limited fence blade plaques with a personalized, laser-cut message. This season of giving, consider honoring a loved one or gifting this unique public recognition to the nature-enthusiast in your life.

A reimagined Nature Museum for our community ensures valuable space for exploration, learning and leisure. By supporting this campaign, you share in our vision of shaping a future where people embrace science and nature.