All Across North Carolina...

          Learning Happens Here.

Secretary Cashwell and Superintendent Dr. Lassiter pose with students holding new school supplies.
Secretary Pam Cashwell delivers school supplies to Pitt County Public Schools students and Superintendent Dr. Steve M. Lassiter Jr. during the annual Governor’s School Supply Drive in 2025.

We invite teachers, schools, and community partners to join us in this journey, as we empower the next generation of North Carolinians to thrive in a future shaped by innovative learning, place-based discovery, and meaningful connections to our shared history and culture. -Pamela B. Cashwell, Secretary of the NC Department of Natural & Cultural Resources

Education has long been a cornerstone of the North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources (DNCR). For over 50 years, DNCR has sparked curiosity and a lifelong love of learning through a rich network of museums, parks, historic sites, aquariums, libraries, archives, the zoo, and other cultural institutions and programs. 

DNCR’s Office of K-12 Education & Outreach extends that commitment through our statewide Learning Happens Here initiative, which highlights and strengthens the educational impact of DNCR’s more than 100 sites and programs, while also providing cross-disciplinary programming, professional development, classroom resources, and more. 

In each of North Carolina's 100 counties, DNCR staff deliver high-quality K–12 events and programming that supports educators and expands access to meaningful place-based learning experiences for students. 

Through these efforts, DNCR: 

  • Supports educators with year-round, content-rich professional development that empowers K–12 teachers with place-based learning and interdisciplinary classroom strategies. 
  • Enhances classroom learning through in-person field trips, outreach visits, and ready-to-use instructional materials that bring North Carolina's history, culture, and natural wonders to life. 
  • Expands access for rural students. With over one third of North Carolina's students living in rural communities, DNCR serves all 100 counties through field trip funding, educator support, classroom visits, and virtual learning. 
  • Extends educational impact through digital exhibits, online collections, children’s and young adult publications, career exploration, and public programming, nurturing a love for North Carolina and strengthening a shared sense of identity. 
Teachers work at tables making flower bouquets.
DNCR hosted over 100 teachers for “Rooted in Learning,” a 2025 teacher appreciation event at the Executive Mansion that honored their service in classrooms and included a “Make Your Own Bouquet” workshop.

The Learning Happens Here initiative aims to inspire a lifelong love of learning, promote unity through shared history, foster science literacy, encourage environmental responsibility, and instill a lifelong passion for reading. We hope to enhance the educational landscape of our state and empower the next generation of North Carolinians to thrive in a knowledge-driven world. We invite you to join us in this educational journey, supporting our mission to cultivate lifelong learners and responsible state residents.

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