This month’s Daytrippin’ is a trip to the South Carolina State Museum. Located about 90 miles north of Colleton County in Columbia, the museum is a great place to spend a few hours to immerse yourself in South Carolina History.
The museum is located in the heart of downtown Columbia and is bordered on one side by the Congaree River. The location itself is historic. The property the museum sits on is a part of the Columbia Canal which began construction in 1824. The canal is still used today to generate hydroelectric power and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The museum opened in 1988 in the former Columbia Mills Building, also listed on the National Register, which began operation in 1894. The mill manufactured cotton duck cloth and was the first fully electric textile mill in the world and the first major industrial installation for the General Electric Corporation.
The entrance to the museum is impressive with its towering timbers as you enter, a nod to its prior life as a cotton mill. Once inside the atrium, a large staircase will take you to the exhibits on the second, third, and fourth floors. In your travels you will pass by a large shark on your way to the exhibit hall. The second floor has many displays, including a great exhibit of old television and radio equipment with a remarkable mockup of the old WCOS radio studio. There are numerous displays of South Carolina History dating back to the exploration and settlement of South Carolina, the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and Reconstruction. There is a nice interactive display of Fort Moultrie that allows you to fire the cannons and a replica of the H.L. Hunley Submarine.
The exhibits include numerous model railroads, the recreation of a rural schoolhouse, old automobiles, and a full-size replica of the Best Friend of Charleston Train which was built in 1830 by the West Point Foundry for the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company. The Best Friend had its inaugural run on Christmas Day along a six-mail passenger route in Charleston.
Other areas of interest, address Sout Carolina Industry, Mill Life and Animal Habitats. The space section of the museums spotlight South Carolinians that have contributed to the space program and includes historic items and even a mockup of the lunar rover.
As you walk around the museum there are numerous theatres and interactive exhibits. The Planetarium is a great place to take in a show, and Boeing Aircraft sponsors have a nice observatory, featuring a 1926 Alvan Clark Telescope to star gaze. There is even a 4D theatre to immerse you into the show with “Sea Lion 4D”. The movie takes you along with “Otto” a sea lion pup on adventures as he explores his ocean habitat. The museum also has a number of everchanging exhibits to keep the collection fresh to their audience.
The museum, which is a Smithsonian Affiliate, even has a café and gift shop. The museum is located on Gervais Street in Downtown Columbia and open from 10am – 5pm Monday thru Saturday with slightly shorter hours 12pm – 5pm on Sundays. To really get the full experience, expect to spend about 4 hours touring the complex. You can take a look at the website scmuseum.org.
