Top North Carolina Conference & Summit Museums

• Spaces for 20-300 Guests
• 4 Museums
• 1 Ballroom
• 6 Total Spaces

The Venue at Hart Square Village is available for a wide range of events, including weddings, proms, Quinceaneras, Christmas parties, family reunions, fundraisers, and business meetings. Offering the convenience of a modern facility in a historic setting, The Venue includes a great hall that seats up to 200 guests with a full catering kitchen. A 20-person boardroom and two classrooms are available for smaller functions, while the arbor in the historic village is excellent for close-knit informal events. The Venue includes beautiful outdoor spaces with panoramic scenes of the historic village. The outdoor stage is located beside the modern venue facility, making it the optimal space for an outdoor wedding ceremony and indoor reception. For small weddings or elopements, The Chapel of Peace, ca. 1871, and St. Mark’s Chapel, ca. 1844, deliver waterfront views of the village. Best of all, when you choose to rent The Venue at Hart Square Village, you are helping to preserve the largest collection of log cabins in the nation.

• Spaces for 30-1,800 Guests
• 5 Museums
• 5 Event Spaces
• 7 Total Spaces

Discovery Place Science offers a host of versatile rental spaces that cater to a wide range of events. From corporate retreats, holiday parties and meetings to social gatherings like happy hours, networking events, theater events, and weddings, Discovery Place creates memorable experiences for all occasions. Whether you’re interested in recreating our award-winning event, Science on the Rocks, or you just want a unique venue to host a professional event or celebrate a personal milestone, our creative and intelligent approach ensures that your guests will have a fantastic time. Part of what makes Discovery Place Science events so special is the option to enhance your experience with dynamic demonstrations and engaging activities such as scavenger hunts, exclusive live science shows, animal encounters, special exhibitions and IMAX® and planetarium shows. Our Events team can help you craft a unique event that will not only meet your specific needs but will also wow your guests. Please reach out to events@discoveryplace.org for more assistance.

• Spaces for 75-400 Guests
• 4 Museums
• 1 Restaurant
• 4 Total Spaces

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences — the largest natural science museum in the Southeast — offers one of downtown Raleigh's most distinctive settings for private events. Spread across two connected buildings at 11 and 121 West Jones Street, the museum hosts gatherings ranging from intimate afternoon meetings to multi-floor evening receptions for up to 2,000 guests. Evening events unfold among the museum's signature exhibits: the Mountains to the Sea hall on the second floor, anchored by a two-story waterfall; the Prehistoric North Carolina gallery, with its towering fossil displays and the Terror of the South exhibits; and the SECU Daily Planet Theater, whose curved screen spans three floors of the Nature Research Center. The Acro Café provides a more intimate dining setting beneath the Living Conservatory, while the William G. Ross Jr. Environmental Conference Center accommodates daytime conferences, luncheons, and meetings — configurable into three separate rooms with audiovisual equipment included. Rocky Top Hospitality serves as the museum's exclusive caterer for all on-site events.

• Spaces for 40-200 Guests
• 3 Museums
• 1 Event Space
• 3 Total Spaces

The Blowing Rock Art & History Museum (BRAHM) is a free-admission cultural institution in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, a small mountain community in the Blue Ridge. Founded by artists, collectors, and community leaders with a shared goal of building a vibrant cultural destination in Western North Carolina, BRAHM celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2026. The museum presents rotating exhibitions alongside a growing permanent collection, and offers programs, workshops, and guided tours year-round. For private events, BRAHM opens three distinct rental spaces: the Atrium/Cannon, a grand open hall with soaring ceilings well suited to cocktail receptions and wedding ceremonies; the Alexander Community Gallery, a traditional reception room accommodating seated dinners, rehearsal dinners, and wedding receptions for up to 80 guests; and a Conference Meeting Room with Balcony Space for meetings, showers, and more formal gatherings. Rentals are available in the fall, winter, and spring. Setup, breakdown, tables, and 200 padded chairs are included with each rental.

• Spaces for 100-300 Guests
• 5 Museums
• 1 Outdoor
• 5 Total Spaces

The North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh hosts private events, weddings, and corporate gatherings within its landmark campus at 2110 Blue Ridge Road. The museum's two main buildings and outdoor grounds offer a range of settings, from the West Building Great Hall—where guests gather among the People's Collection spanning more than 5,000 years of art history—to the East Building Main Hall, which accommodates up to 275 guests for large receptions and seated dinners. The landscaped North Courtyard, featuring a reflecting pool and mature trees, is available as an outdoor complement to the West Building for cocktail hours and ceremonies. The Museum Auditorium seats up to 235 for presentations, seminars, and performances, and the Education Lobby serves as a reception space for daytime gatherings. All venue rentals are coordinated in partnership with Catering Works, providing turnkey event planning that includes catering, florals, linens, and audiovisual support. Evening rentals are available seven days a week across the museum's event spaces.

• Spaces for 40-180 Guests
• 5 Museums
• 1 Outdoor
• 5 Total Spaces

The Museum of Life and Science is a nonprofit science and nature museum set on an 84-acre campus in Durham, North Carolina. Founded in 1946, the museum has grown into a regional institution that combines a two-story science center, an AZA-accredited zoo with more than 60 live animal species — including black bears, lemurs, and Red Wolves — and one of the East Coast's largest butterfly conservatories. The Aerospace wing houses one of North Carolina's largest collections of Apollo-era NASA artifacts. For private events, the museum opens its distinctive spaces for after-hours gatherings of up to 180 guests, as well as daytime meetings. Couples can hold ceremonies in the Butterfly House Conservatory, on the two-acre Hideaway Woods nature playscape, or under the Special Events Tent and Lawn. Receptions take place in gallery spaces including the South Gallery, Aerospace hall, and Mercury Meeting Room. All rentals include a dedicated venue coordinator, complimentary WiFi, on-site parking, tables and chairs with staff setup and breakdown, and access to an exclusive roster of caterers and bartenders.

• Spaces for 14-300 Guests
• 5 Museums
• 1 Theater
• 5 Total Spaces

The NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores sits on North Carolina's Crystal Coast and spans more than 30,000 square feet across five exhibit galleries — Mountain, Piedmont, Coastal Plain, Tidal Waters, and Ocean. The aquarium opens its spaces for private events ranging from intimate daytime meetings to full evening buyouts, hosting weddings, rehearsal dinners, corporate gatherings, birthday parties, and more. Soundside Hall, the aquarium's signature event space, measures approximately 37 by 50 feet with a high cathedral ceiling, a working fireplace, and an adjoining wooden deck overlooking Bogue Sound. It accommodates up to 125 guests for banquets, ceremonies, and receptions. The Big Rock Theater seats 150 and is equipped with a large-screen AV system for presentations, lectures, and small-scale performances. Evening gallery rentals extend the experience further: the Saltwater Galleries — including the 306,000-gallon Living Shipwreck exhibit — host private events for up to 175 guests alongside the aquarium's resident sea life.

• Spaces for 50-650 Guests
• 6 Museums
• 2 Landmarks
• 6 Total Spaces

The NASCAR Hall of Fame is an interactive museum and event venue in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, dedicated to honoring the history and heritage of NASCAR. Opened in 2010 and designed by Pei, Cobb Freed & Partners — whose steel curves and slopes echo the shape of a racing oval — the building connects directly to the Charlotte Convention Center and can accommodate groups ranging from 10 to 2,400 guests across several distinct spaces. At the heart of the facility, the Great Hall places events against the backdrop of Glory Road, a display of 18 iconic NASCAR stock cars. The flexible floor plan supports everything from luncheons with keynote speakers to evening receptions with a band or DJ. The Hall of Honor, where NASCAR's inductees are officially enshrined, provides a more intimate setting for VIP dinners and exclusive receptions. The 278-seat High Octane Theater offers full audio/visual capabilities for presentations, screenings, and award ceremonies. The Legends Room serves smaller meetings and private gatherings with a built-in screen and projector, while Inside NASCAR and Heritage Speedway bring immersive racing exhibits into the event setting. All rentals include tables, chairs, linens, background music in most spaces, and a dedicated Event Specialist on site for the duration of the event. The facility's exclusive in-house catering team handles food and beverage, and the building is non-smoking throughout, including the outdoor Plaza.

• Spaces for 180-500 Guests
• 3 Museums
• 1 Outdoor
• 3 Total Spaces

Marbles Kids Museum is a nonprofit children's museum and event venue in the heart of downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 2007, the museum features two floors of hands-on, interactive exhibits and a full-scale IMAX theater — and each of those spaces opens to private rental for events ranging from corporate meetings and luncheons to formal galas and wedding celebrations. Events take place across three main rental spaces. Curiosity Square, the main lobby and surrounding first-floor exhibit area, offers an open-concept layout with soaring ceilings, vibrant colors, and access to an outdoor courtyard, accommodating up to 250 guests banquet-style or 500 for a standing reception. Zanzibar A/B is a 3,456-square-foot room with African wood-carved doors, floor-to-ceiling windows, and built-in projection and audio systems — divisible for smaller cocktail gatherings or opened fully for receptions of up to 250. The IMAX building houses Marbles IMAX, which seats 272 for private screenings, presentations, and events on a four-story-tall screen.