Annual Open House
The NC State College of Veterinary Medicine looks forward to celebrating its annual Open House on Saturday,
March 6, 2027, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
(This event will take place, rain or shine.)
This extremely popular free event invites the community to explore our College of Veterinary Medicine and Veterinary Hospital to learn more about how we are a driving force in veterinary research, training and medical care.
Learn more about the operations and facilities at our Veterinary Hospital and bring your budding veterinarians to check out what the classrooms and laboratories in a state-of-the-art college of veterinary medicine are like. Then stop by demonstrations to see how our veterinarians work with animals. Make sure to leave time to participate in one of our many events.
Open House Activities
Just some of the things to do!
- Get your favorite stuffed animal repaired in our Teddy Bear Clinic.
- Milk a cow!
- Learn how our veterinarians and students care for farm animals.
- Hear from a current veterinary student on what it’s really like to study at the College of Veterinary Medicine.
- See how our researchers are improving animal and human health.
- Engage with local animal organizations.
- Get your face painted.
- Grab a snack at a food truck.
What is the Teddy Bear Clinic?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Open House at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine?
Open House is an annual event hosted by the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine and Veterinary Hospital. The college and hospital open their doors to the public for tours, activities and learning experiences. It’s an excellent activity for all ages, from families looking for fun to students interested in learning about a career in veterinary medicine!
When is the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine’s 2027 Annual Open House?
The event will be Saturday, March 6, 2027, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and visitors are invited to drop in for as long as they can within that window. Open House will be held rain or shine.
Do I need tickets?
No, the event is free! Registration is not required, but visitors are highly encouraged to RSVP via the Facebook event.
Where can I park?
Parking is free and available a short walk from the college’s main building. Visitors entering campus will follow William Moore Drive until they reach the parking deck across from the college’s main entrance, marked by a long brick path. Parking attendants will be on-site to help direct guests to the deck.
Should the parking deck become full, additional parking will be available at Gate 9 at the NC State Fairgrounds. Shuttles will be available for those parking at Gate 9.
Limited accessible parking is available in select spots in the parking deck and in the college’s West Lot.
What kinds of activities should I expect?
Open House boasts a multitude of activities for all age groups. The event includes a self-guided tour with more than 20 stops where guests can get a taste of student life, hear more about admissions and clubs, learn from presentations and panels and participate in hands-on activities simulating several aspects of veterinary medicine. There will also be a multitude of educational demonstrations across campus!
Where do I find directions to NC State’s veterinary campus?
The NC State College of Veterinary Medicine is located off Hillsborough Street near the NC State Fairgrounds. For additional directions on getting to campus, click here.
How can visitors with mobility aids or strollers navigate campus?
The College of Veterinary Medicine’s campus is equipped with elevators that will be accessible to guests during Open House. Please note that the campus tour spans multiple floors and buildings, and guests with accessibility concerns are encouraged to contact a volunteer on-site day-of to address their needs.
Can I bring my personal pet to the event?
Personal pets are not permitted at Open House. Please leave your furry friends at home.
Will food be available on campus?
Food trucks will be parked on property for visitors to buy meals and snacks.
Additionally, our campus coffee shop, Creature Comforts Café, will be open. In addition to beverages, they offer a lineup of breakfast sandwiches, fresh bakery items, bottled beverages, grab n’ go sandwiches, wraps, pastas, salads and snacks.
Explore last year’s Open House
Follow Along on Social Media
Follow the fun on Facebook and Instagram. We will be posting additional information leading up to Open House. Share your experiences with us during the event using the #NCStateVetMed hashtag!
Welcome to From the Field 2026! 🛣️ This summer five of our amazing veterinary students will be reporting from their internships, externships, preceptorships and other places where they are putting their NC State College of Veterinary Medicine learning into action!
1️⃣ First up is Sydney MacDonald, who will be writing primarily about her preceptorship with the NC Aquariums at @CMAST, the our college`s coastal campus. She also will be reporting from Morehead City, NC, about her work during the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament in June! 🐟🐟🐟
This week, the Currituck County, North Carolina native gives us a peek at her research project involving mahi-mahi. She hopes to create a baseline health database for the commonly caught game fish, which has a huge economic benefit for many coastal NC communities. 💲
👉 Find more information about Sydney and the rest of our correspondents and the link to Sydney`s first post in our profile.
#fromthefield #vetstudent #veterinarymedicine #studentresearch
@currituckcountygovernment
It was the 1960s when animal lover Mary Frances Backherms was ecstatic to earn a seat at a veterinary college — and then devastated when she was pressured into giving it to a man.
To honor her late sister`s dream denied, Kathy Backherms recently decided to create a scholarship at one of the nation`s veterinary colleges. NC State stood out, Backherms says, for its clear focus on student achievement and well-being.
Now, the new Mary Frances Backherms Memorial Scholarship Endowment has paid out its first scholarship to a young woman who, just like Mary Frances, dreamed from childhood of becoming a veterinarian.
Kathy Backherms, a decades-long educator, recently got to meet Isla Farrow, a Greenville, North Carolina, native and daughter of educators. You couldn`t have orchestrated a better moment.
Read about the women, the scholarship, the story at the link in our profile.
Photos courtesy of Kathy Backherms and Isla Farrow
http://ncst.at/O1AN50YYrkB
#scholarship #vetstudent #generosity #donors
The students of the NC State Class of 2026 came from South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Ohio, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Arizona, California, Florida and Guam to join scores of North Carolina residents, including 25 from Wake County, in Raleigh to become doctors of veterinary medicine.
The NC State College of Veterinary Medicine has been home base for four years. Now, the next generation of innovators, problem-solvers and life-changers is scattering across communities near and far, ready to leave the world better than they found it.
#PackStrong
Find more details about our Oath and Hooding event at the link in our profile.
Celebration X 2! Many of our newest #NCStateVetMed doctors ... doctors! ... participated in the NC State University commencement event at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh today, joining 7,000 other Wolfpackers getting degrees. #ThinkandDone
(Psst. You can tell the DVMs by the inflated pink breeder sleeves.)
#Classof2026, we know you`ll make a big difference to your new communities wherever you land. #PackStong
PHOTOS BY JOHN JOYNER / NC State Veterinary Medicine
#Classof2026 #NewDVMS #vetlife #worldchangers
Congratulations are in order for our #classof2026 Doctors of Veterinary Medicine! We`ve oathed. We`ve hooded. We`ve hugged and hollered! Go forth and change the world for the better! Your @ncstate Pack is cheering you on! #ncstatevetmed #thrivingcvmcommunity #dvm #newdoctors
Oath and Hooding has ended, and 108 new Doctors of Veterinary Medicine educated at the finest veterinary college anywhere have headed out into the world to do all they can to make it better for humans and animals of every species. We`re so proud of you! @ncstate
#ThinkandDone #Classof2026
From nerves to NAVLE, the past four years have been marked by a swirl of internal questions for Hannah Dion: Am I good enough? Will I fit in? What if I let someone down?
The Class of 2026 native of Raleigh, North Carolina, has her answers now.
"We’ve been accepted. We belong here. We know more than we think we do. We passed the test. We matched. We got hired. We are graduating. We did it. We are going to be veterinarians."
Don`t miss the rest of her remembrances at the link in our profile.
#Classof2026 #NewDVM #vetschool #OathandHooding
@wfhsgirlssoccerteam
10
9
8 ...
10 pictures to count down to Oath and Hooding for the Class of 2026! 🎉
After the ceremony Friday at 4:30 p.m., our veterinary students who arrived in the fall of 2022 will leave NC State University as doctors! 🩺
Some will join small animal clinics, and others will go on to internships and then residencies to become specialists. Some will work for governments making sure our food is safe, and others will take research positions and find answers to our most difficult questions in animal and human medicine. #lifechangers #innovators #problemsolvers
Oh, the places you`ll go, and behind you every step will be the rest of your Wolfpack! 🐺 #ThinkandDo @ncstate
