4 Best Sights in Central North Carolina, North Carolina

With an unflinching eye, this museum documents the beauty and horror of America's civil rights movement of the 1960s. The star attraction is the actual Woolworth's lunch counter where countless African Americans staged sit-ins to protest segregation for more than six months in 1960. A guided tour shows viewers how this act of defiance spread to more than 50 cities throughout the South and helped finally bring segregation to an end. Other exhibits uncover the brutality of America's racism throughout the South.

Many of the museum's graphic images of historical violence may be too intense for young eyes.

Set in a Romanesque church dating from 1892, the museum has displays about the city's own O. Henry and Dolley Madison, plus a detailed timeline about the city's textile boom as the country's largest producer of denim. There's also an exploration of the Woolworth sit-in, which launched the civil rights movement's struggle to desegregate eating establishments. Permanent exhibits include a horse-drawn 1886 steam fire engine, an original Cadillac, and collections of Confederate weapons and Jugtown pottery. Behind the museum are an 18th-century homestead and the graves of several Revolutionary War soldiers.

Wander through the 1786 John Haley House and the 1801 Hoggatt House, where rotating exhibits highlight Piedmont history and Quaker heritage with local artifacts. On Saturdays, costumed reenactors demonstrate trades like traditional blacksmithing. The museum is home to native son John Coltrane's childhood piano and a school bus cab with operational lights that's fun for kids.

Founded in 1902, this Smithsonian-affiliated museum is now in a state-of-the-art facility on Bicentennial Plaza. Its signature exhibit, The Story of North Carolina, traces more than 14,000 years of the state’s history. The museum also houses the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, which displays memorabilia from hundreds of inductees, from college heroes to pro superstars and Olympic contenders. You can see Richard Petty's race car, Arnold Palmer's Ryder Cup golf bag, and Harlem Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon's uniforms. Even if your time is short, it's worth popping in to admire the wall-sized oil paintings of the state's most beautiful natural vistas.