Sprawling more than 2,000 square feet, the Creation Museum (aka Taxidermy Hall of Fame of North Carolina, Creation Museum, and Antique Tool Museum) is nestled in the basement of the Christian Book Store, on Broad Street in downtown Southern Pines. It’s free, but a donation box confronts you on the way out.
No matter your thoughts on evolution, this overwhelming collection curated by the late Pastor Kent Kelly is guaranteed to help you waste an afternoon. Look to the ceiling and you’ll find what could be the largest compilation of barbed wire in the United States. Turn the corner and you’ll be met with a taxidermied collection of all the poisonous snakes in North Carolina. Walk through the next hallway and you’ll see a signed pair of Muhammed Ali’s boxing gloves.
“One of the most popular pieces, and one of my favorites, is the peacock and the albino peacock. Or the buffalo,” says Lynne Creech, manager of the book store. “You don’t see very many buffalo in downtown Southern Pines.”
Indeed. Don’t forget to grab a piece of fudge on the way out.
