NC Science Trail
The Wonder Project served on the organizing work group convened by the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to develop the NC Science Trail and co-chaired the marketing and web development committee. After the contract was awarded, Michele co-founded the project under the auspices of In Situ Explorers and Executive Director April Smith, PhD. The Trail now features 108 science eduction and adventure organizations across the state and partners with educational providers to bring these educational adventures to North Carolina residents and visitors.
01
Trail Launch - April 2023
In April 2023, the NC Science Trail launched its website with 60 science education and adventure partners. The founders, Michele Miller Houck and Dr. April Smith, traveled across the state and built a presence at 17 events during the NC Science Festival. Since that time, the trail has grown to include 108 science destination and has outreach stations at North Carolina's nine Welcome Centers.
02
Curious Minds Inquire
NC Science Trail provides at home and at school activities for science learners of all ages through the resource center on our website. In addition to creating our own activities, we partnered with Discovery Place Science, Imagination Station, and Science Across NC to provide a wide variety of resources.
03
Curious Minds Adventures
In 2025, the NC Science Trail partnered with 10 NC State Parks to create scavenger hunts at each park that encouraged learning and exploration of the parks particular highlights. Some of these are still available today.
04
Email Marketing and Social Media
The Wonder Project has created more than 35 monthly Explorer newsletters for the NC Science Trail achieving a more than 50% open rate over the period between June 2025-June2026. Social media engagement on Instagram and Facebook has been consistent and continues to grow in the past three years since it's inception (2023-2026).
