CHARLOTTE — As the Charlotte Nature Museum inches closer to completion, Channel 9’s Elsa Gillis got an exclusive sneak peek at the progress being made.
The museum, part of the nonprofit Discovery Place family, was built in the 1940s and sits aside Freedom Park in Dilworth. Channel 9 has covered the major renovation project for years.
Construction of the revamped Charlotte Museum of Nature is now more than halfway to the finish line. Discovery Place President and CEO Catherine Horne said the museum will more than double in size once renovations are complete.
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“This museum is inside and outside,” she said. “We’re filling 13 acres with lots of experiences, as well as a building that is 26,000 feet of space.”
The massive update includes an outdoor canopy walk through the trees, an expansive plaza with easier access to Freedom Park, and exhibits with new species, including North American river otters.
“One of the other great things about the building is that we have so many vistas of what the nature looks like here, the trees that have been here for over 100 years plus,” Horne said.
The two-story building puts visitors up-close to that surrounding nature, making it feel like you’re in the trees.
The project is both privately and publicly funded. In 2023, museum leaders requested an additional $20 million from the county to cover construction overruns. Commissioners approved an extra $10 million, and Horne says fundraising is going well for the remainder.
It’s an investment Horne says will inspire and educate generations to come.
“We want to leave a legacy for adults and children, for the future, so that they, too, care for this earth like we do today,” she said.
The museum is set to open mid-2026.
Get an inside look at the latest renovations in the video at the top of the page.
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