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 Five Ranch, a zoo and animal park on N.C. 150, moved to the top of the annual rankings list replacing another Rowan attraction, Dan Nicholas Park.
The Lazy 5, which opened in 1993 in western Rowan, saw 125,932 field trip visitors during the 2010-2011 school calendar year. The North Carolina Zoo finished second in the survey with 118,937 total teachers and students.
Dan Nicholas Park, a county park, finished third in the survey with 116,428 field trip visitors. Rounding out the top five field-trip attractions were the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh 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,” Lazy Five Ranch owner and president Henry Hampton said in a press release. “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.”
The top 10 ranked attractions were: 1. Lazy Five Ranch, 125,932 visitors; 2. North Carolina Zoo, 118,937; 3. Dan Nicholas Park, 116,428; 4. N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, 115,694; 5. North Carolina Aquariums, 104,089; 6. Natural Science Center of Greensboro, 99,000; 7. Discovery Place, Charlotte, 79,223; 8. Morehead Planetarium & Science Center, Chapel Hill, 78,542; 9. Marbles Kids Museum & IMAX Theatre, Raleigh, 78,010; and 10. North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh, 77,792.
Also making the list in Rowan was Patterson Farm in Mount Ulla, which ranked 25th among top field-trip destinations in the state.