South Carolina State Museum - Columbia, South Carolina - Museum

South Carolina State Museum is located at Gervais Street, beside the historic Gervais Street Bridge and just a few blocks west of the State Capitol in downtown Columbia, South Carolina. It opens 10am to 5pm Tuesday to Saturday and 1pm to 5pm on Sundays. The museum also opens on Mondays between Memorial Day and Labor Day, but remains closed on Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The Museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is dedicated to the art, history, natural history and science/technology relating to South Carolina. It is housed in the former Columbia Mill, which opened in 1894 as a manufacturer of cotton duck cloth and was the first totally electric textile mill in the world. Open as a museum since 1988, the building has both long-term exhibits and five changing exhibit galleries displayed over four floors, with over 70,000 artifacts in its collection.

Collections are divided in to four distinct categories, which are South Carolina Art, Natural History, Science and Technology and Cultural History. There are numerous styles of art contained within the museum's collection ranging from traditional portraits to contemporary offerings from local artists. Displays are changed twice a year in the 7,800-square-foot Lipscomb Art Gallery, whilst there are some artistic displays of a horticultural nature in the grounds.

The Natural History section reflects the biological diversity of the country and has amongst other things shark and dinosaur exhibits. The Science and Technology area has many exhibits and activities about space, aviation, transportation, communications, manufacturing, natural resources, agriculture and power production. The Cultural History area has information and exhibits dating back to prehistoric times with old stone tools, through to the 20th century and the first car mass produced in South Carolina.

School groups are welcomed with programs designed to meet the State Department of Education curriculum standards and can be adapted to meet specific needs. Box lunches can be prepared if requested four days in advance of a school visit with a choice of cheese or ham sandwiches, chips, drink and a cookie. With four weeks notice the museum can also provide a portable, inflatable planetarium dome, which can accommodate up to 30 students.

Birthday parties can be held at the museum on weekday afternoons or weekends and lasting for 90 minutes. Overnight camps are also available for scout groups on Friday nights, with guests sleeping in their own sleeping bags in the exhibit spaces. Between June and August there are summer camps with demonstrations and activities for either a half day from 9am to noon or full days from 9am to 4pm.

The Cotton Mill Exchange is a store for visitors to buy souvenirs and is located in the lobby area of the museum. The building is fully accessible to the handicapped with free wheelchairs available on first-come, first-serve basis. Photographers are requested not to use flash photography in the Lipscomb Art Gallery or in posted exhibitions, and tripods are not permitted anywhere in the museum.