Join the Elizabethan Gardens on Fridays from 10:00- 11:00 am with your preschooler at the Discovery Cottage to explore the outdoors through hands-on learning activities and nature play. Each Friday features a different theme, such as outdoor play, winter hibernation, popular pollinators, plants as food, and spring gardening. Sessions will include a story, activity or craft, and a light snack. The program is free with the purchase of regular admission and for Garden Members. There is space for 15 children per session. Tickets cost $4 for children ages 3-5 and $12 for individuals 18 and up. Tickets can be purchased online from the event website.

Manteo Walking Tours begin Monday, March 4th. The tour runs Monday - Friday at 10am. The Manteo Walking Tour is a short, half-mile walk through downtown Manteo and along its waterfront. Join your tour guide owner and operator (and professional stand-up comedian) Greg Smrdel as he entertains and educates you on the rich history of the Outer Banks.The approximately hour-and-a-half tour is fun and informative, but not in the dry, dusty way most history is presented. Join the tour Monday through Friday at 10 am in downtown Manteo. Groups of 12 or more are also welcome with special group rates available. Flexible tour times can be arranged for groups.

During the month of April, Dare Arts Vault Gallery will feature Manteo Made, a collection of woodwork by artist Owen Lauber. The month-long exhibit includes a selection of furniture and homewares, many of which are made from locally downed trees on Roanoke Island. Items on display range from furniture to smaller more delicate homewares and accessories. Some pieces pair natural forms of the wood with other more refined components, while others feature clean lines with contrasting accents. Come during downtown Manteo's First Friday festivities. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station and the Lifesaving Service on the North Carolina Coast, Dare Arts and the Chicamacomico Historical Association have teamed up to host the second Chicamacomico Shakes Exhibit in April. Local artists will display artwork made from an original 1911 Chicamacomico Cookhouse shake. The Chicamacomico Shakes Exhibit will be on display in the Courtroom Gallery April 5-27, 2024.

North Carolina State Parks’ 2024 educational theme is Year of the Bear! Join Ranger Austin for a fun-filled afternoon learning about our state’s largest fur-legged furry friend. He will share a wonderful book with you, which follows a day in the life of a bear. We will also make cool, creative critter crafts!

The program is open to children grades 1 through 5.

Registration is required; to sign up, stop by the visitor center, call (252) 573-6108 or click the Register button to email austin.paul@ncparks.gov.