Will the Science Center's New Parking Lot Be Ready for Winter Wonderlights?

When the Greensboro Science Center's parking expansion is finished, its Lawndale Drive campus will have more than 600 spaces. Before crews arrived in late July it had about 518. During the second phase of construction it was planned to drop to about 387. Winter Wonderlights opens on November 18, during the closing stretch of that project.

Year seven of the holiday lights and the last weeks of the lot work fall on the same calendar. If you park at the Science Center, walk the Country Park loop or bring visiting family to see the lights, you're going to an event whose parking was being rebuilt underneath it this fall.

What Crews Are Adding Off Lawndale Drive

The project adds 137 spaces to a lot shared by the Science Center and Country Park. Timmons Group designed it and Samet Corporation is building it. City records put the budget at $1.65 million. The City of Greensboro is contributing $900,000 and the Science Center committed $750,000 in private funding.

To keep as many spaces open as possible, the Science Center split the work into phases. Here's how capacity was planned to change, according to the project announcement posted by the City:

At the Phase 2 low point, the lot holds about a quarter fewer cars than it did in July.

When the Lot Is Expected to Finish

Construction started Monday, July 27, 2026, and was expected to take about 90 days. WFMY described the timeline as "around three months."

Samet's October 1 project update, posted on its Biodome construction site, tied the lot directly to the holiday event:

"The Parking Lot Expansion is on track for completion in time for Winter Wonder Lights and will ease parking congestion once completed."

The City's Country Park page says, "The construction is expected to be completed by December." Across the Science Center's site, a banner reads "Parking lot expansion underway. The GSC and Rotary Carousel remain open with temporary parking changes." That banner is the quickest thing to check before you leave home.

Country Park Is Where the Detours Reach Furthest

For Science Center visitors, the construction mostly means fewer spaces. For anyone whose routine runs through Country Park, it changes how you get in. While work continues, the City and the Science Center list these changes:

• No access into Country Park from the Science Center lot, and no Country Park parking there.
• The Orman Road entrance and its parking lot are closed to cars and pedestrians.
• No bicycles in Country Park. The City says the sidewalk serving as the pedestrian detour along the lakefront isn't wide enough for walkers and cyclists to share.
• The FLYWAY zipline is closed.
• The boardwalk section to Shelter #1 is closed, and Shelter #1 can't be reserved.
• The Event Promenade near the Country Park office is closed to events and food trucks.
• Pedestrian access from Orman Road to Tour Stop #6 at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park is unavailable. The military park is still reachable from its Old Battleground Road lot, and from Country Park through the Guilford County Veterans' Memorial to Tour Stop #4.

Country Park parking is currently at the Nathanael Greene entrance, 3905 Nathanael Greene Dr., and at Jaycee Park off Jaycee Park Drive. The City lists about 55 spaces at Nathanael Greene and about 300 at Jaycee Park. The free Country Park Shuttle, which normally runs weekend and holiday afternoons from May through October, is unavailable for the rest of the 2026 season.

The Science Center's Hours & Prices page lists Jaycee Park and the Nathanael Greene entrance as additional parking. But the Science Center's own directions sheet for Jaycee Park warns, "You will not be able to walk through Country Park to access the GSC as the path is blocked due to construction." Jaycee Park is roughly a mile and a half of driving from the Science Center, by way of Lawndale Drive, Pisgah Church Road and Forest Lawn Drive. Until the path reopens, treat it as an overflow lot for the park.

What Year Seven Adds Once You're Inside

Once you're past the parking, the event has more going on than in past years. Winter Wonderlights, presented by Cone Health, runs November 18, 2026, through January 3, 2027. It has more than a million lights, handcrafted lanterns and the glowing tunnel. The Science Center lists three additions for 2026:

1. Laser Holidays. A 15-minute holiday laser show in the OmniSphere plays all evening and is included with admission.
2. The first Sensory Friendly Night. It's on Tuesday, November 17, from 5:30 to 9 p.m., the night before the regular season opens. Expect quieter music, quiet zones and sensory bags. Tickets are sold at the door.
3. Merry Mermaids, updated. In the SAIL Center Atrium, a mermaid tells the story of a sleepy Science Center every half hour from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. It's included with admission.

Before any of that, Jingle Brew on November 13 gives guests 21 and older a look at the lights before they open to the public. It runs 6 to 9:30 p.m. and pours from SouthEnd Brewing Co., Pig Pounder Brewery, Oden Brewing Company, Forgotten Road Ales, Fiddlin' Fish Brewing Company and Southern Drift Brewing Company. Pepper Moon Catering is providing hors d'oeuvres.

FOX8 reported on October 16 that the event runs 5 to 10 p.m., that tickets range from $15 to $25, and that children 2 and under get in free. The posted schedule includes discount community nights, Santa on-site nights and closed dates, so check the calendar before you pick a night.

Picking a Night With the Lot in Mind

The Science Center's own guidance points toward a few practical choices for this particular season:

1. Avoid the weekend crush if you can. On-site parking is free and first-come, first-served. The Science Center says Fridays and Saturdays are usually the busiest nights and recommends carpooling or ridesharing then. With fewer spaces during construction, that advice matters more on those nights.
2. Plan daytime visits around the early close. The Science Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. but closes early during Winter Wonderlights. It also lists Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day among its closed days.
3. Know the discount rules before you go. Members, groups of 15 or more, and SNAP/EBT/WIC participants get discounted admission. The SNAP/EBT/WIC rate is for same-day, in-person purchases only, and reciprocal memberships aren't valid for this event.
4. Expect it to run in the rain. Winter Wonderlights is rain or shine. If extreme weather makes conditions unsafe, the Science Center offers an alternate date, and refunds aren't available.
5. Bring a wheelchair user along without worry. The event path is wheelchair-friendly, and Guest Services has a limited number of wheelchairs available with photo ID.

Why the Lot Is Growing Now

The Science Center says the expansion serves growing attendance and prepares for Expedition Rainforest: The Greensboro Biodome and Aquatic Rehabilitation and Conservation Center. WFMY reported the Biodome is expected to open in summer 2027.

The Science Center describes it as a five-story rainforest biodome paired with aquatic wildlife rehabilitation and conservation facilities. Plans include coral and jellyfish propagation tanks, a stingray touch tank, and a café, retail and rental complex. Samet is the builder on both projects. As of its October 1 update, the Biodome's structural steel frame was fully up, ETFE roof panels were going on, and crews were sculpting artificial rockwork inside the exhibit spaces. This year's construction on Lawndale Drive is the parking for that building, which WFMY reported is expected to open next summer.

At Avalon Realty Group, we watch how projects like the Battleground Parks District lot change the daily routines of the neighborhoods around them, from a Saturday loop at Country Park to a December night under the lights. If you live near Lawndale Drive and wonder how the Biodome and the bigger lot might affect your home's value, we'd be glad to walk through it with you. Request Your Free Home Valuation and we'll start with the details on your street.