Lazy 5 Ranch Ranked Top Field Trip Attraction in NC

For the second consecutive year, a Rowan County attraction heads the list of North Carolina’s biggest field trip attractions, according to the annual survey conducted by Carolina Field Trips Magazine. The Lazy 5 Ranch, a popular zoo and animal park in Mooresville, NC moved to the top of the annual rankings list replacing another Rowan County attraction, the Dan Nicholas Park, which held the top spot in last year’s survey.

The Mooresville based attraction which opened in 1993, saw 125,932 field trip visitors during the 2010-2011 school calendar year with the North Carolina Zoo finishing second in the survey with 118,937 total teachers and students. Last year’s top attraction, the Dan Nicholas Park, a Rowan County Parks Recreation facility finished third in the survey with 116,428 field trip visitors. Rounding out the top five field attractions was the NC Museum of Natural Sciences and the three North Carolina Aquarium locations based along the coast in Manteo, Pine Knoll Shores and Fort Fisher.

“The Lazy 5 Ranch continues to grow through the overwhelming support from the visitors and people in our community, “said Lazy 5 Ranch owner and president Henry Hampton, “Our field trip and group education market is truly outstanding. We strive to provide fun, yet we want students to have an educational experience while visiting our farm. Our field trip experience is certainly unique and we’re very fortunate to have so many schools in the area that allow teachers and students to visit and enjoy the Lazy 5 Ranch.”

Besides the Lazy 5 Ranch and the Dan Nicholas Park, Patterson Farm Market and Tours was the other Rowan County based attraction finishing 25th in the survey with 26,717 teachers and students.

Rounding out the top ten attractions in this year’s survey were the Natural Science Center in Greensboro, Discovery Place Inc. based in Charlotte, the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center in Chapel Hill along with Raleigh based Marbles Kids Museum and the North Carolina Museum of History.

The Triangle area had seven different attractions ranked in this year’s survey. Newcomers in this year’s field trip rankings included the Carolina Raptor Center in Huntersville and the Health Adventure in downtown Asheville.

Museums/Historic Attractions

1. Lazy 5 Ranch
   Mooresville, NC, 704-663-5100, www.lazy5ranch.com, 125,932
2. North Carolina Zoo
   Asheboro, NC, 800-448-0444, www.nczoo.org, 118,937
3. Dan Nicholas Park
   Salisbury, NC, 704-216-7803, www.dannicholas.net, 116,428
4. NC Museum of Natural Sciences
   Raleigh, NC, 919-733-7450, www.naturalsciences.org, 115,694
5. NC Aquariums
   Manteo/Pine Knoll Shores/Fort Fisher, 800-832-3474, www.ncaquariums.com, 104,089
6. Natural Science Center of Greensboro
   Greensboro, NC, 336-288-3769, www.natsci.org, 99,000
7. Discovery Place Inc.
   Charlotte, NC, 703-372-6261, www.discoveryplace.org, 79,223
8. Morehead Planetarium & Science Center
   Chapel Hill, NC, 919-962-1236, wwws.moreheadplanetarium.org, 78,542
9. Marbles Kids Museum & IMAX Theatre
   Raleigh, NC, 919-834-4040, www.marbleskidsmuseum.org, 78,010
10. NC Museum of History
    Raleigh, NC, 919-807-7900, www.ncmuseumofhistory.org, 77,792
11. Schiele Museum of Natural History
    Gastonia, NC, 704-866-6908, www.schielemuseum.org, 69,118
12. Museum of Life and Science
    Durham, NC, 919-220-5429, www.lifeandscience.org, 69,106
13. Children’s Theatre of Charlotte
    NC, Charlotte, NC, 704-973-2829, www.ctcharlotte.org, 60,000
14. North Carolina State Capitol
    Raleigh, NC, 919-733-4994, www.ncstatecapitol.com, 50,811
15. Old Salem Museums & Gardens
    Winston-Salem, NC, 800-441-5305, www.oldsalem.org, 45,000
16. Biltmore, Asheville, NC, 866-851-4661, www.biltmore.com, 43,217
17. Catawba Science Center
    Hickory, NC, 828-322-8169, www.CatawbaScience.org, 39,321
18. Tryon Palace
    New Bern, NC, 800-767-1560, www.tryonpalace.org, 36,212
19. Carolina Raptor Center
    Huntersville, NC, 704-875-6521, www.carolinaraptorcenter.org, 33,044
20. North Carolina Museum of Art
    Raleigh, NC, 919-664-6820, www.ncartmuseum.org, 31,056
21. Neuseway Nature Center & Planetarium
    Kinston, NC, 252-939-3302, www.neusewaypark.com, 30,000
22. The Health Adventure
    Asheville, NC, 828-254-6373, www.thehealthadventure.org, 30,000
23. Linville Caverns Inc.
    Marion, NC, 800-419-0540, www.linvillecaverns.com, 28,149
24. SciWorks
    Winston-Salem, NC    336-767-6730, www.sciworks.org, 28,082
25. Patterson Farm Market & Tours Inc.
    Mt. Ulla, NC, 704-797-0013, www.pattersonfarminc.com , 26,717