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This museum, which you can find at the Levine Center for the Arts, has a collection of craft and design objects, American art, very old works of art, and contemporary works. Check out some other epic adventures in North Carolina you can have without breaking the bank. Charlotte has over 50 museums, and most of them are places you want to take your kids! Here is KidsOutAndAbout list of kid-friendly museums in & around Charlotte. Community input helps us tell new stories about the city through exhibitions, digital projects, and public events. Grab your headphones, take a stroll around Uptown Charlotte, and explore the history of the city’s people, places and promises with our free app, KnowCLT.
Charlotte’s Free Outdoor Concerts
The Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Center provides an affordable space for artists of all mediums and disciplines to create. The center features galleries, studios, theaters, a museum and arts school. Art lovers can visit the center for free and observe these artists in action or attend a concert or artist talk. Our contemporary art museum showcases international art exhibitions, interactive spaces, live performances, and educational programs for all ages. In 1779, a 12-year-old boy discovered a 17-pound gold nugget in Little Meadow Creek next to his father’s farm, located just east of Charlotte. Today, Reed Gold Mine still stands at the location of this first gold find and offers visitors a step back in time.
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When you come to a city like Charlotte there are so many things to do and see. We have you covered with the best FREE things to do in Charlotte that are sure to make your stay more fun, without breaking the bank. Yes, our coat check is open during winter months and during special occasions. If it is closed, you may ask to leave your items with guest services behind the desk. Bookbags and large heavy bags are not allowed inside the galleries.

Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + CultureArrow
Over the past 40 years, The Light Factory Photo Arts Center has been home to exhibits highlighting traditional, digital, and motion picture photographic techniques. The gallery has a rotating exhibition schedule that features emerging and established work from artists like Bill Viola, Imogen Cunningham, Stanley Kubrick, and Sarah Moon, among other artists. Various exhibits around the grounds celebrate different aspects of Polk's life and presidency, including settling the Oregon boundary dispute, annexing California, and his involvement in the Mexican-American War.
Discovery Place is an incredible STEM-based museum in Charlotte for kids of all ages. After the Civil War, Charlotte embraced the concept of the “New South.” The Levine Museum of the New South is a history museum in Charlotte that shares the stories of the people of Charlotte post-Civil War. Explore the work of masters of modern art, including Picasso, Miró, Calder and Degas. The building is a stunning work of art itself—only the second in the country designed by postmodern Swiss architect Mario Botta.
Ready to Visit these Museums in Charlotte and Nearby?
Past events have included a live jazz band, a board game tournament and a painting event. From doing a free tour to seeing art at a museum to attending fun events, you’ll be surprised by all the things you can do in the city without spending anything. Whether you like nature, music, history, or something else, there’s something for your liking. Inside The Bechtler, you’ll find works by modern art giants like Picasso, Warhol, and Giacometti and incredible fascinating rotating exhibits. Also enjoy events at this Charlotte museum like live music, Family Day, Artist Talks, and film discussions.
Uptown Museums Offer Free Admission to Military Members - Charlotte magazine
Uptown Museums Offer Free Admission to Military Members.
Posted: Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Historic Rosedale

From parking garage, take the Plaza Elevators to Level P. Take a left and you will see the Bechtler’s terra cotta building across the street. Every spring, you can enjoy enough free entertainment during the Charlotte Jazz Fest, whether you want to take your jazz al fresco at Romare Bearden or fill your Uptown lunch break with music. Join the trivia nights at almost any weeknight at a brewery or restaurant to show your knowledge of miscellany without Google. Trivia nights is one of the most exciting free things you to do in Charlotte, and you can hit Lebowski’s for a first try. Enjoy a reminisce of the 8-bit days of childhood with classic video games at Abari. You can choose to hit the arcade, grab a Sega Genesis controller, or play classic pinball.
President James K. Polk State Historic Site
The Billy Graham Library is both a museum and library that is all about the life of Billy Graham, a person who was a civil rights advocate and an evangelist. It is possible to do these tours twice every week and every tour takes 45 minutes in total. You don’t need a reservation when you want to take part in the tour. Some of Charlotte's great museums are free all the time, some free one time a week, and some free one time a month.
Carolina Raptor Center
You’ll find a variety of auto racing represented here, ranging from stock cars to drag racing. Sign up for a tour of the site’s cabins, which are a recreation of what the Polk family is believed to have inhabited. Tours are $2 for adults and $1 for children, payable when you arrive for the tour.
A naturalist center, planetarium, Tot Town learning space and an outdoor nature trail provide experiences that celebrate the natural and cultural history of the Carolina Piedmont region and beyond. This 265-acre historic farmland and nature preserve was home to six generations of the Davidson family. The grounds feature eight Colonial-era structures that are used to celebrate the land's more than 250 years of history through events and educational programming.
If you do not find what you are looking for, please contact Katie Hoelter, Chief of Staff, at Students will respond to this question through close looking and discussion while exploring the architecture of the Bechtler. In teams, students will reflect on their own collections and and embark on a design thinking challenge where they are the clients and need to put forth a design for their peers. This program will help students explore the design thinking process while helping build creative thinking and communication skills. Established in 1936 as North Carolina’s first art museum, The Mint Museum is a leading, innovative cultural institution and museum of international art and design. The Mint Museum is committed to making the museum experience accessible for all visitors.
Does the Charlotte Picasso exhibit offer ticket discounts? - Charlotte Observer
Does the Charlotte Picasso exhibit offer ticket discounts?.
Posted: Fri, 03 Feb 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The Charlotte Pride Festival and Parade also takes place in August each year. Runners, bikers and dog enthusiasts will love the Charlotte Greenway system. The greenway offers over 20 trails totaling nearly 60 miles, and it’s all FREE! These paved paths are specially designed for the comfort of pedestrians and for the preservation of natural plant life and wildlife.
Mint Museum Randolph has a diverse collection of all kinds of works of art. The collection includes art from Europe, Africa, the Americas, and there are many different types of objects at the museum. The museum has both permanent and traveling exhibitions, and each exhibition focuses on a specific part of the region’s history. At the museum, you can learn about the stories of the people of Charlotte and nearby places through rotating exhibitions that focus on all kinds of issues that happened in the past. The ArtBreak event takes place once a month and is usually on the third Thursday of each month.
This is one of the best free things to do in Charlotte, a stunning art gallery which admission is free! It is hosted in the evening on every third Thursday of the month at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts & Culture. There are more than enough hiking locations for the entire Charlotte population and her neighbors. An hour and a half north of the city lies the Stone Mountain that offers a fascinating 600-foot granite face. Why not cut the Sunday night blues and connect with your inner rock star at the notorious Snug Harbor’s karaoke party? Every 6 pm on Sundays, Bryan Pierce hosts a party at Plaza Midwood, an awesome music venue where you can pick any tunes you want and hit the stage.