I will gladly drive the extra five minutes it takes me to get here than to go to Fayetteville for…read moretheir children's museum. Exploration Station is worth the drive. Nestled in downtown Lumberton, Exploration Stations is a well-built and cared for children's museum. The clean and tastefully decorated interior is perfect for young children to upper elementary in age. My family was warmly greeted by the employees, and they were genuine in their interactions with us. Near the front, there is a lovely space to do birthday parties and have cake, while being separate from the food-free rest of the facility. The rest of the facility is an absolute blast. There are more areas than I have pictures of, and my littles loved every spot. The favorite area was the ship, as it has a second level and sound effects to imitate a cannon firing. They even have a dedicated area for small children who cannot walk. It truly has something for every young child. Parking can be found along the street or in a side parking lot, so we had no issues with finding space, even though they were hosting a birthday party while we were there. The bathrooms are clean and bright. I could tell even before talking with one employee about the cleaning schedule that the materials are well cared for and routinely inspected for cleanliness and quality. I could spend a whole day here, but we unfortunately we were coming close to their closing time and had to leave. This definitely will be a place I keep in mind for my youngest kiddos next birthday. It's truly a magical place.

The scheduling was easy, the work was great and the price was better than expected. It is a…read moreconvenient location and a clean shop with quality workmanship.

The Poe House is next door to the Museum of Cape Fear and that is where to sign up for your tour…read moreand where the tour starts. A volunteer takes you through the house of E. A. and Josephine Poe. Mr. Poe owned Poe Brick Company. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places. The house is currently getting some much needed maintenance and painting done so make sure to check in advance if it will be open the day you want to visit. The guided tour takes about an hour. The house is a Victorian Style and built from a kit. The wrap around porch and the intricate detailing outside is impressive. The inside of the house is in great condition and has tall ceilings; wide doors and the woodwork is very impressive. It gives a glimpse into early 20th century life. The house has two staircases one for the family and another for the servants. The servants were provided living quarters. The kitchen is detached from the house as the oven was on all day. I highly recommend visiting this beautiful house.

We visited the Poe house yesterday, and really enjoyed it. The house was beautiful, our tour guide…read morewas great even dressed the part. She was very knowledgeable. It was nice to learn how they lived and the family. Next door we visited the gift shop but didn't have time to visit the museum part. (Will have to come back) Also it was free, with donations welcome.

It would be better if they sporadically went and sanitized items. Especially in the toddler room…read moreinstead of just collecting items throughout the day. Some areas are better than others. Some have a ton of toys to play with, and some have absolutely nothing in the area. It's a good place if you have a toddler and want them to run around and burn some energy off

I'm honestly shocked this place has any good reviews. It was so dirty and all the toys and displays…read morewere old and dingy. In the toddler room, all the plastic toys had no batteries. Everything looked dirty and ancient. The reading area was so dingy my friend said "looks like we are about to get bed bugs." There was a school group absolutely destroying the place when we arrived in the display areas. Not a single item was where it belonged (all the food in the grocery area, the mail in the mail area, etc was wrecked). The children were running completely wild with zero supervision while the few chaperones stood in a different room and didn't put a single thing back where it belonged. I can't believe I paid $20 for this and our kids didn't really enjoy it. My toddler who barely talks said "messy, clean up." The hand sanitizers didn't have actual canisters of hand sanitizer, they were empty. Good thing I brought my own. Place looked like a germ factory. Go to Marbles or Rockingham for a good children's play space/museum.

It was pretty, great lights for the holiday season. 20 per…read moreadult wasn't a bad price, felt it was reasonable. However, it was rather disappointing. The Grinch sat there ringing a bell. Not at all what the kids thought the Grinch would be. Added costs with the pictures with Santa, after you realized you can't take your own, having to go through and pay again with shipping. Overpriced candy and small gifts But they had small little things for kids to do like snowball fights and a little baggy of smelly goods

This was a cute botanical garden. They decorated nicely for the holidays. Would have been nice to…read moresee the lights at night but regardless, nice grounds to walk around.

The Fayetteville Area Transportation and History Museum is located in Downtown Fayetteville. They…read morehave a free parking lot for two hour parking. If that lot is full there is another lot by the Museum Annex. Admission is also free. The Museum is inside a restored railroad depot for the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railroad. The museum displays have a lot to read if you choose or you can just look at the artifacts, so make sure to give yourself enough time. The museum covers many topics from fashion to banking to the railroad to the Cape Fear River to Civil War to law enforcement to the fire department to books about Fayetteville. Each topic has a section for you to learn about. The museum is on two levels and you can use the stairs or take the elevator. The Museum Annex is a short walk away and had displays with vintage cars; a gas station; an 1880 Steam Pump Engine and provides history about the fire department. Make sure to check out both buildings of the museum. I enjoyed my visit to this museum and some of the exhibits rotate so I need to go back again.

It's free admission and is worth checking out to get a better feel of the significance of…read moreFayetteville. Who knew that Fayetteville had so much to do with transportation? I sure didn't and definitely learned a thing or two from here. Also, there is a small Farmer's Market on Saturdays mornings that has about 4-6 vendors selling some produce, art, and canned goodies.

The Rankin Museum is located in Ellerbe, NC. It is named after Dr. Rankin and includes his…read morecollections. It is off the beaten path and a hidden gem for history buffs. There is a parking lot in the front of the museum and admission is just $4. The museum is much larger than it appears from the outside. If I remember correctly, it is 4900 sq feet, so there is a lot to see and read. The museum covers a lot of topics from local history and industry to rocks and minerals to Native Americans to taxidermied animals in all parts of the world. There is a large section devoted to Andre the Giant who made his home on a farm in Ellerbe. The exhibits are very thorough with the artifacts so you will learn a lot. I was impressed with the diversity of the exhibits. I didn't know that the French Wrestler and Actor lived in the small town of Ellerbe but it was great to read about his life and he chose to have his ashes scattered in Ellerbe. I highly recommend visiting the Rankin Museum.

The Rankin Museum is one of those off the beaten path type places. There are reasons to go here…read more If you like indigenous history, they have a great collection of artefacts. If you like local history, there are key pieces here that the state museum wanted (and was disappointed they couldn't secure). If you're into Pop Culture, the Andre the Giant exhibit is a nice treat to see, with his enormous rings, and a number of other wrestling mementos. The woman who worked here took the time to show us around, explain the history of all the pieces, and told us the wonders of the town. If you're looking for a way to break away from the highway, and explore a one-stoplight-town then this is the place for you to check out. There's also a kid zone here, with some fun brush away the dirt, and reveal the fossil pieces.