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Hatteras Island Visitor Center and Museum of the Sea. About 50 miles south of the Seashore's north entrance is the Hatteras Island Visitor Center and Museum of the Sea in Buxton, NC. The Visitor Center offers and Eastern National bookstore and several bulletin board displays. The Museum is within the historic Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Double Keepers Quarters. The two-floor museum contains exhibits on various aspects of history touching the Outer Banks, and some natural history display. A small audiovisual room provides for a variety of presentations.Most visitors visit both the Visitor Center and Museum during their visit to the adjacent Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. There is beach parking nearby, as well as the Buxton Woods Nature Trail.Ranger programs are scheduled during summer months and offered intermittantly, or as posted, the rest of the year.

Built in the mid-1920's, The Whalehead Club continues to stand as one of the most spectacular landmarks on the NC Outer Banks. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. A guided tour acquaints you with the history, architecture and folklore of this historic landmark.

In Frisco, the Native American history of Hatteras Island and the Native American culture of our nation are preserved. The owners have taken great care to preserve Native American heritage, with their collection of artifacts, exhibits and natural history displays. Galleries include information on Native Americans across the United States, and arts and crafts from around the nation. A dugout canoe, tools, instruments and other items found on the museum property offer a glimpse into the island's former life. The gift shop has a wide variety of Native American-made items and arts and crafts. While you're there, be sure to walk on the nature trails that wind through several acres of forest.

A unique museum dedicated to preserving and interpreting the rich maritime history of The Outer Banks and the 1,000 known shipwrecks that rest off its' coast. The maritime heritage and shipwrecks of the North Carolina Outer Banks are vital resources for understanding local, regional, and national history. Long ignored, this legacy is in danger of being lost forever. It is imperative that this rich past be preserved and interpreted for present and future generations.

Featuring the state's largest saltwater tank, this public aquarium is one of three operated by the state. Marine exhibits, touch tanks, films, field trips and daily programs. New to the aquarium is the Bite, Shock, Sting! These venomous animals include rattlesnakes, black widow spiders and lionfish.

Beginning mid-May the public is invited to join the NC Maritime Museum for a short sail on Shallowbag Bay aboard a traditional watercraft. Times and sailing schedule varies. Call for more information.

Roanoke Adventure Museum where interactive exhibits explore the 400 years of Outer Banks history since America's beginning. You can site a star with an astrolabe, meet Algonquians through John White drawings, climb aboard a spritsail skiff and hoist her sails, meet a pirate who sailed with Blackbeard, learn about lighthouses and lifesaving, experience duck hunting and a take shopping trip to a 1900s general store.

For more information about Outer Banks museums, click here.