List of museums in South Carolina facts for kids

South Carolina is a state in the United States with many interesting places to visit. Among these are its museums! A museum is a special place that collects and takes care of important objects. These objects can be about culture, art, science, or history. Museums then show these collections or related exhibits to the public. This list focuses on museums you can visit in person. It does not include museums that only exist online.

What Kinds of Museums Are There?
Defunct Museums
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What Kinds of Museums Are There?

South Carolina has many different types of museums. You can find museums about art, history, science, and even specific topics like cars or trains. Here are some of the cool museums you can explore:

Art Museums

Art museums are places where you can see beautiful paintings, sculptures, and other creative works. They often show art from different times and places.

Aiken Center for the Arts in Aiken: This center has a gallery that shows art from local and regional artists in the South.
Bob Jones University Museum & Gallery in Greenville: This museum has a large collection of European art, Russian icons, and ancient items from the Holy Land.
Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia: Here you can see European and American fine art and decorative art.
Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach: This museum has 11 galleries with changing exhibits. You can see paintings, textiles, sculptures, and more.
Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston: A well-known art museum in Charleston.
Greenville County Museum of Art in Greenville: This museum focuses on American art.
Spartanburg Art Museum in Spartanburg: An art museum in Spartanburg.

History Museums

History museums help us learn about the past. They can cover local history, military events, or specific groups of people.

Local History Museums

These museums tell the story of a specific town, city, or county.

Aiken County Historical Museum in Aiken: This museum is located in a 1930s mansion called "Banksia."
Anderson County Museum in Anderson: Learn about the history of Anderson County.
Barnwell County Museum in Barnwell: This museum covers the history of Barnwell County.
Beaufort History Museum in Beaufort: Located in a historic arsenal from 1799, it tells the history of the Beaufort area.
Berkeley County Museum and Heritage Center in Moncks Corner: You can find this museum at the Old Santee Canal Park.
Camden Archives & Museum in Camden: This museum explores the history and culture of Camden and Kershaw County.
Cayce Historical Museum in Cayce: Learn about the farming, social, and cultural history of the Cayce and West Columbia areas.
Cherokee County History and Arts Museum in Gaffney: This museum covers local history and art.
Colleton Museum in Walterboro: Learn about the history of Colleton County.
Georgetown County Museum in Georgetown: This museum focuses on the history of Georgetown County.
Greer Heritage Museum in Greer: Located in a former post office, it tells the local history of Greer.
Hampton County Museum in Hampton: Operated by the Hampton County Historical Society, it is in the historic former county jail.
Hartsville Museum in Hartsville: This museum, located in a former post office, has local history and art exhibits.
Horry County Museum in Conway: This museum covers local history, natural history, military, and farming.
Marion County Museum in Marion: Learn about the history of Marion County.
The Museum in Greenwood in Greenwood: This museum covers local culture, natural history, and technology.
North Myrtle Beach Historical Museum in North Myrtle Beach: Learn about the history of North Myrtle Beach.
Oconee Heritage Center in Walhalla: This center focuses on the local history of Oconee County.
Pickens County Museum of Art & History in Pickens: This museum has local history exhibits and three art galleries.
Spartanburg Regional History Museum in Spartanburg: This museum tells the history of the Upcountry South Carolina region.
Summerville-Dorchester Museum in Summerville: Learn about the local history of Summerville and Dorchester County.
Sumter County Museum in Sumter: This museum has local history, art, and decorative arts exhibits.
Upcountry History Museum in Greenville: This museum focuses on the history of the Upcountry South Carolina region.

Military Museums

These museums focus on wars, military history, and the armed forces.

American Legion Post 3 Cecil B. Buchanan War Museum in Greenville: This museum covers the history of American military bases.
American Military Museum in Charleston: It includes items from 14 American conflicts, from the Revolutionary War to the recent war in Iraq.
Cherokee County Veterans Museum in Gaffney: This museum has items and memories from the American Revolution to today.
The Citadel Archives & Museum in Charleston: This museum tells the history of The Citadel, a military college.
Confederate Museum in Charleston: This museum has items from the Civil War.
Fort Moultrie National Monument on Sullivan's Island: This monument is part of the Fort Sumter National Monument.
Fort Sumter National Monument in Charleston: This monument includes three sites in Charleston: the original Fort Sumter, the visitor center, and Fort Moultrie.
Kings Mountain National Military Park in Blacksburg: This park remembers an important battle of the American Revolution.
Museum and Library of Confederate History in Greenville: This museum shows what war and home life were like in the South during the Civil War.
Oconee Veterans Museum in Walhalla: Also known as Patriot's Hall, it has military items from all wars.
Parris Island Museum on Parris Island: This museum tells the history of the United States Marine Corps.
Patriot's Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant: This museum has four museum ships, including the USS Yorktown (CV-10), an aircraft carrier.
Powder Magazine in Charleston: This building was used during the Colonial and American Revolution periods to store ammunition.
South Carolina Civil War Museum in Myrtle Beach: This museum has firearms, uniforms, and other items from the Civil War.
South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum in Columbia: This museum covers the military history of South Carolina.
South Carolina Military Museum in Columbia: This museum honors South Carolina's complete military history.
U.S. Army Adjutant General’s Corps Museum in Columbia: This museum tells the history of the U.S. Army’s Adjutant General’s Corps at Fort Jackson.
U.S. Army Basic Combat Training Museum in Columbia: This museum shows how basic combat training in the U.S. Army has changed since 1917.
U.S. Army Chaplain Museum in Columbia: This museum covers the history of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps at Fort Jackson.
U.S. Army Finance Corps Museum in Columbia: This museum tells the history of the Army’s Finance Corps, including military money and payroll records.
War Between the States Museum in Florence: This museum has guns, uniforms, swords, and personal items from the Civil War.
Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston: This center focuses on the history and items from the submarine H. L. Hunley.

African American History Museums

These museums highlight the history and culture of African Americans in South Carolina.

Avery Research Center in Charleston: Part of the College of Charleston, it focuses on local African American art and cultural history.
Bertha Lee Strickland Cultural Museum in Seneca: This museum explores local, regional, and statewide African American history.
Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum in Orangeburg: This museum shows the history of the civil rights movement in South Carolina.
Clemson Area African American Museum in Clemson: This museum focuses on African American history and culture.
Greenville Cultural Exchange Center in Greenville: This center focuses on African American history.
Hampton Colored School in Hampton: This former segregated school has exhibits on local African American history.
Mann-Simons Site in Columbia: This historic house and site were owned by a local African American family.
Southern African American Heritage Center in Cheraw: This center covers area African American history and culture from the 1800s to the mid-1900s.
York W. Bailey Museum on St. Helena Island: This museum covers local history and Gullah culture.

Historic Houses and Plantations

Many museums are located in old homes or plantations, showing what life was like in the past.

Aiken-Rhett House in Charleston: A historic house.
Ashtabula Historic House in Pendleton: A plantation home from 1790.
Bedon-Lucas House in Walterboro: This 19th-century planter's home is operated by the Colleton County Historical & Preservation Society.
Bonham House in Saluda: A late 18th-century house that is being restored.
Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens in Mount Pleasant: An old cotton plantation with original slave quarters.
Browntown Museum in Hemingway: An 1845 farmstead with old buildings.
Burt-Stark Mansion in Abbeville: This house was the site of the last meeting of the Confederate government's cabinet members.
Calhoun Mansion in Charleston: A restored late 19th-century mansion.
Charles Pinckney National Historic Site in Mount Pleasant: An 1828 plantation home.
Drayton Hall in Charleston: An 18th-century indigo and rice plantation.
Edmondston-Alston House in Charleston: A mid-19th-century mansion.
Fort Hill in Clemson: Part of Clemson University, this was the home of politician John C. Calhoun.
Hagood-Mauldin House/Irma Morris Museum of Fine Arts in Pickens: This house has 17th and 18th-century art and furniture.
Hampton Plantation in McClellanville: A Georgian rice plantation house.
Hampton-Preston House in Columbia: Operated by the Historic Columbia Foundation.
Hanover House in Clemson: A historic house.
Heyward House in Bluffton: An 1840s house with an original slave cabin and summer kitchen.
Heyward-Washington House in Charleston: A late 18th-century house operated by the Charleston Museum.
Hopsewee Plantation in Georgetown: A typical low country rice plantation with 18th and 19th-century furniture.
Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet: Includes Atalaya Castle, the home of an art scholar and sculptor.
Jacob Kelley House in Hartsville: A mid-19th-century house.
John Mark Verdier House in Beaufort: A historic house.
Joseph Manigault House in Charleston: Furnished with early 18th-century antiques, operated by the Charleston Museum.
James W. Dillon House in Dillon: An early 20th-century period house.
Kaminski House Museum in Georgetown: A 1769 house with 18th and 19th-century American and English antiques.
Kilgore-Lewis House in Greenville: A 19th-century house with gardens.
Lunney House Museum in Seneca: A 1909 Queen-Anne style bungalow showing the "Life Journey" of Dr. John & Mrs. Lilian Mason Lunney.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston: A 17th and 18th-century rice plantation.
McLeod Plantation Historic Site in Charleston: This site focuses on the lives of enslaved people.
Middleton Place in Summerville: An 18th-century rice plantation.
Millford Plantation in Pinewood: A mid-19th-century Greek Revival mansion.
Nathaniel Russell House in Charleston: An early 19th-century house operated by the Historic Charleston Foundation.
Oconee Station State Historic Site in Walhalla: Includes the 1792 Oconee Station and the 1805 William Richards House.
Old Santee Canal Park in Moncks Corner: Includes Stony Landing House, a furnished 19th-century home.
Price House in Spartanburg: A late 18th-century home.
Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site in Beech Island: A 1959 plantation house with preserved slave quarters.
Robert Mills House in Columbia: Operated by the Historic Columbia Foundation.
Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site in Union: A 19th-century plantation mansion with old buildings and rose gardens.
Seay House in Spartanburg: Shows turn-of-the-20th-century farmstead life.
Seibels House and Garden in Columbia: An early 19th-century mansion and garden.
South Carolina Governor's Mansion in Columbia: A mid-19th-century mansion.
Walnut Grove Plantation in Spartanburg: An 18th-century plantation home with historic outbuildings.
White Home in Rock Hill: Shows the 1870s home of the White family, who helped found Rock Hill.
Woodburn Historic House in Pendleton: An 1830 plantation home.
Woodrow Wilson Family Home in Columbia: This 1871 house was home to a 14-year-old Woodrow Wilson.

Children's Museums

These museums are designed especially for kids, with interactive exhibits and fun activities.

Children's Museum of South Carolina in Myrtle Beach.
Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry in Charleston.
Children's Museum of the Upstate in Greenville.
EdVenture in Columbia.
Main Street Children's Museum in Rock Hill: Has creative play exhibits based on the artwork of cartoonist Vernon Grant.
The Sandbox in Hilton Head Island.

Science and Nature Museums

These museums explore science, technology, and the natural world.

Bob Campbell Geology Museum in Clemson: Part of Clemson University, it has rocks, minerals, fossils, and meteorites.
Congaree National Park in Hopkins: The visitor center has exhibits about the natural history of the swamp.
Mace Brown Museum of Natural History in Charleston: Part of the College of Charleston, it has fossil and dinosaur specimens.
Museum of Education in Columbia: Part of University of South Carolina.
Roper Mountain Science Center in Greenville: This large site includes a Living History Farm, halls of natural sciences and science, a planetarium, and an observatory.
Spartanburg Science Center in Spartanburg.
World of Energy in Seneca: Operated by Duke Power at the Oconee Nuclear Station, it teaches about energy.

Transportation Museums

These museums focus on different ways people and goods have traveled.

Anderson City Fire Department Museum in Anderson: Includes fire trucks, a horse-drawn wagon, and antique fire equipment.
Best Friend of Charleston Museum in Charleston: Focuses on railroads.
BMW Zentrum in Spartanburg: About cars and the BMW company.
Chester County Transportation Museum in Chester: Has cars, trucks, a bus, and license plates.
Columbia Fire Department Museum in Columbia.
Darlington Raceway Stock Car Museum in Darlington: Tells the history of Darlington Raceway and stock car racing.
Florence Railroad Museum in Florence: Housed in a renovated railroad box car.
Greenwood Railroad Historical Center in Greenwood: Has vintage railroad cars.
Landsford Canal State Park in Catawba: Includes a lock-keeper's house with exhibits about the canal.
Miniature World of Trains in Greenville: A large model train display showing how transportation systems work.
Nostalgia City and Museum in Myrtle Beach: Has antique cars, fire trucks, and automotive items.
North Charleston and American LaFrance Fire Museum and Educational Center in North Charleston.
McBee Depot Library and Railroad Museum in McBee: A former train depot with a railroad museum.
South Carolina Railroad Museum in Winnsboro: Offers heritage steam train rides and displays of railroad cars.

Other Interesting Museums

Agricultural Heritage Center in Blackville: Shows early rural farm life.
Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum in Aiken: About horse racing.
Antiquers Haven Museum and Shop in Liberty: A house with period pieces from 1690 to 1890, including clothing, toys, and cars.
Arts and Heritage Center of North Augusta in North Augusta: Has rotating art exhibits and a permanent heritage exhibit.
Bart Garrison Agricultural Museum of South Carolina in Pendleton: Explores South Carolina’s farming history.
Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet: Has outdoor sculpture gardens, a zoo, and a wildlife preserve.
Button Museum in Bishopville: Features items decorated with buttons.
Catawba Cultural Center in Rock Hill: Focuses on the history and culture of the Catawba Indian Nation.
Comporium Telephone Museum in Rock Hill: Shows the history of the Rock Hill Telephone Company and old telephones.
Coastal Discovery Museum in Hilton Head Island: Covers the history, wildlife, and heritage of Coastal Carolina.
Coker Farms National Historic Landmark in Hartsville: Shows how the Coker Pedigreed Seed Company changed Southern agriculture.
Collins Ole Towne in Central: An open-air museum with a general store, barber shop, and school house.
Dillon County Museum in Latta: Has early 20th-century doctor and dentist's offices, farming tools, and military items.
Edisto Island Museum in Edisto Island: Covers local history, culture, and natural history.
Elloree Heritage Museum and Cultural Center in Elloree: A large museum showing rural and farm life of the past.
Florence County Museum in Florence: Has fine arts, Asian art, African American art, and ancient artifacts.
Hagood Mill Historic Site and Folklife Center in Pickens: An 1845 grist mill with farming exhibits and crafts.
Hobcaw Barony in Georgetown: Includes a Discovery Center with exhibits on local history, archaeology, and wildlife.
Hollywood Wax Museum Myrtle Beach in Myrtle Beach: Features wax figures of celebrities.
The Hunley in Charleston: A recovered Confederate submarine that is being preserved.
Hunting Island Light on Hunting Island: A former lighthouse you can visit.
Kaminski House Museum in Georgetown: A 1769 house with 18th and 19th-century American and English antiques.
Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum in Charleston: Has changing exhibits from its collections of important documents.
Kazoo Museum in Beaufort: Features a collection of almost two hundred kazoo-related items.
Keowee-Toxaway Museum in Six Mile: Focuses on Native American history.
Kings Mountain State Park in Blacksburg: Includes a recreated early 19th-century farm.
L.W. Paul Living History Farm in Conway: A working farm that shows farm and home life in Horry County from 1900-1955.
Lake Greenwood State Recreation Area in Ninety Six: Includes a Civilian Conservation Corps Museum.
Lando Manetta Mills History Center in Lando: Tells the history of a former textile mill community.
Lexington County Museum in Lexington: An open-air museum with 36 historic houses and outbuildings.
Louis G. Gregory Baháʼí Museum in Charleston: About prominent Baháʼí Faith member Louis George Gregory.
Lowcountry Visitor's Center and Museum in Yemassee: Located in the Frampton Plantation House, it shows a 1900s plantation parlor.
Mac's Pride Museum in McBee: Has antique cars, tractors, and farming equipment.
Macaulay Museum of Dental History in Charleston: Has dental instruments and items, part of the Medical University of South Carolina.
Marlboro County Historical Museum in Bennettsville: Includes a Victorian parlor, Native American items, and a medical museum.
McKissick Museum in Columbia: Part of University of South Carolina, it has natural history, minerals, art, and historic items.
Museum of the Cherokee in South Carolina in Walhalla: About the Cherokee people in South Carolina.
Museum of York County in Rock Hill: Covers local history, natural history, and art.
National Steeplechase Museum in Camden: Tells the history of steeplechasing (horse racing with obstacles).
Ninety Six National Historic Site in Ninety Six: The site of an American Revolutionary War battle.
Old Exchange Building in Charleston: Offers tours of the historic building and dungeon.
Old Slave Mart in Charleston: Tells the story of Charleston's role in the slave trade.
Pauline Pratt Webel Museum in Ridgeland: Covers local history.
Postal History Museum in Charleston: About the history of the post office in the area.
Ravenel Caw Caw Interpretive Center in Ravenel: Focuses on natural and cultural history, with trails through former rice plantation fields.
Rice Museum in Georgetown: Covers area rice culture, maritime history, and art.
Ripley's Believe It or Not! in Myrtle Beach: A museum with unusual and strange exhibits.
Ronald McNair Life History Center in Lake City: About the life of astronaut Ronald McNair.
Ruth Drake Museum in Belton: Located in the railroad depot, it covers local history.
Saluda County Museum in Saluda: Operated by the Saluda County Historical Society.
Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum and Baseball Library in Greenville: About baseball player Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Sigal Music Museum in Greenville: Features a collection of musical instruments.
South Carolina Cotton Museum in Bishopville: Explores cotton uses, farming, and processing.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame in Columbia.
South Carolina Maritime Museum in Georgetown: Has ship models, photos, and maritime items.
South Carolina State Museum in Columbia: Has exhibits on art, history, natural history, science, and technology.
South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame in Belton: Located in the railroad depot.
South Carolina Tobacco Museum in Mullins: About tobacco farming.
Sumter County Gallery of Art in Sumter.
Village Museum in McClellanville: Covers local history.
Wagener Museum in Wagener: Covers local history.
Williamsburgh Historical Museum in Kingstree: Operated by the Williamsburgh Historical Society.
Williston Museum in Williston: Covers local history.
Winchester Museum in Edgefield: Headquarters of the National Wild Turkey Federation, focusing on wild turkeys.
Winthrop University Galleries in Rock Hill: Three art galleries.

Defunct Museums

These museums are no longer open or have changed.

Communication Museum, Charleston: Now a special collection of the College of Charleston, it had antique radios, televisions, and other communication equipment.
Florence Air & Missile Museum
Museum of Western York County, Sharon
Ragtops & Roadsters Auto Museum, Murrells Inlet
Rivers, Rails and Crossroads Regional Discovery Center, Blackville: Its exhibits were moved to the Arts and Heritage Center of North Augusta.
Slave Relic Historical Museum, Walterboro
Thomas Elfe House, Charleston: Now a private home.