South Carolina State Museum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Columbia Mills Building
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The former Columbia Mills Building, now the South Carolina State Museum
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 Location in South Carolina
Location in the United States
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| Location | 301 Gervais St, Columbia, South Carolina |
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| Built | 1894 (126 years ago) |
| Architect | Lockwood, Greene, & Co.; Chapman, William A., Co. |
| MPS | Columbia MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 82003902 |
| Added to NRHP | May 24, 1982 |
The South Carolina State Museum is a super cool place to learn all about the history of South Carolina! It has four floors packed with amazing things to see. You can explore permanent exhibits that are always there, plus special exhibits that change often.
The museum also has a digital dome planetarium, a fun 4D interactive theater, and an observatory where you can look at the stars. All these cool features opened in 2014. You'll find the museum right by the Congaree River in downtown Columbia, South Carolina. It's the biggest museum in the state!
The South Carolina State Museum is also connected to the Smithsonian Institution, which means it's part of a big family of museums. It's built on an old shipping canal called the Columbia Canal. This canal was used even before the American Civil War. The museum opened its doors on October 29, 1988.
A Historic Home
The museum is housed in a very special building. It's called the Columbia Mills Building. This building is so important that it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. When the mill first opened in 1894, it was the first textile mill in the world to be completely powered by electricity! It made a strong canvas-like material called cotton duck cloth.
This mill was also the first big industrial project for the General Electric company. If you look closely on some floors of the museum, you can still see the original flooring. You might even spot tiny metal pieces embedded in the floor. These are from when the building was a busy mill. They were used to hold threads during the spinning process.
Inside the Columbia Mills Building, you'll also find the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum. This is the oldest museum exhibit in Columbia, started way back in 1896!
What You Can Explore
The museum covers four main areas of South Carolina's story:
- Art
- Cultural history (how people lived)
- Science and technology
- Natural history (plants, animals, and nature)
You can see awesome life-size models of famous things. One is the Best Friend of Charleston, which was the first American-built train from 1830. Another is the H.L. Hunley, a submarine from the Civil War. It was the first submarine ever to sink an enemy ship in a battle!
On the second floor, you'll find amazing natural history exhibits. Look out for "Finn," a huge, 3.6-million-year-old megalodon shark. It's suspended in the air, looking like it's swimming! There's also a life-size Columbian mammoth. These giant elephants used to live in South Carolina a long, long time ago.
The museum also has the Lipscomb art gallery on the first floor. Here, you can see a beautiful iron gate made by a famous artist from Charleston named Philip Simmons. If you're looking for souvenirs, check out the Cotton Mill Exchange gift shop on the first floor. It sells books and gifts about South Carolina. When you get hungry, the Crescent Café sells sandwiches and drinks.
Near the café, there's a cool mural painted in 1989. It shows the nearby Gervais Street Bridge and was created by a Columbia artist known as Blue Sky (artist). Outside, in the parking lot, you can see amazing plant sculptures called topiaries. These were created by Pearl Fryar from Bishopville, South Carolina. For younger kids, the Stringer Discovery Center opened in 1997.
Special Exhibitions Over the Years
The State Museum often hosts exciting traveling exhibitions. Here are just a few examples of past shows:
- In 1990, an exhibit about "Spanish Explorations" celebrated 500 years since Columbus's discovery.
- "WWII and SC" in 1991 marked 50 years since the attack on Pearl Harbor.
- In 1997, "Rock, Roll, and Remember" featured the band Hootie & the Blowfish and other South Carolina music stars.
- "Star Trek: The Exhibition" came in 1999, letting visitors explore the world of Star Trek.
- "Prehistoric Predators" in 2004 showed off ancient creatures.
- "Leonardo da Vinci" in 2008 explored the famous inventor's work.
- "Hollywood Comes to South Carolina" in 2008 highlighted movies filmed in the state, like The Patriot and Forrest Gump.
- "Pirates" sailed into the museum in 2010.
- In 2012, "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" marked 100 years since the ship sank.
- "King Tut" exhibits were popular in 2003 and 2013.
- "Dinosaurs: A Bite Out of Time" roared in 2014.
- "Hall of Heroes" in 2019 celebrated superheroes.
- Also in 2019, an exhibit marked 50 years since the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. It even included items from South Carolina astronaut Charles Duke.
- "Sherlock Holmes: The International Exhibition" arrived in 2020, with items from the Museum of London.
