Fort Macon State Park - Coastal Education Center
project type: museums
The exhibits at Fort Macon Coastal Education Center examine the unique cultural and natural history associated with the Fort and the surrounding land along the eastern end of Bogue Banks.
A series of vignettes tell the story of Dr Elliot Coues, a noted surgeon and ornithologist, who was stationed at Fort Macon immediately following the Civil War. During his time at the Fort, Coues observed, studied, and collected all species of birds indigenous to the Islands. Numerous specimen collected by Coues are in the collection of the Smithsonian and are used for academic and ornithological research. In 1872, Coues published the Key to North American Birds, a seminal text that did much to promote the systemic study of ornithology in America.
Additional exhibits interpret various aspects of the natural world of the Barrier Islands and the crucial role it plays in our ecology. One of the key elements is a large diorama of the Barrier Island that examines each of its zones; the beach, dune, maritime forest, and the salt marsh. The diorama includes plant and animal species found in each habitat, and includes sound and touch interactive opportunities. The coming-and-going of the tides are examined with a video and interactive model that document the tidal process. The destruction caused by coastal storms and hurricanes are presented with images and oral histories, as well as examples of man-made stabilization efforts to curtail the effects of the storms. A major exhibit focuses on whaling, and depicts a whale being harpooned by a sailor, archival images and artifacts, and touch opportunity models of a variety of whale species found in the waters off Ft Macon. The exhibit sequence concludes with an examination of our stewardship of the Islands and documents the pollution and destruction humans have caused on the natural world that is the Barrier Islands.
With exhibit design by Design Dimension and building architecture by Grimsley Hobbs Architect, the Coastal Education Center at Fort Macon State Park provides coastal visitors with a state-of –the-art educational destination.