We took advantage of the CoolPASS offered by Experience Columbia, SC getting us access to the South…read moreCarolina State Museum, EdVenture Children's Museum, and the Riverbanks Zoo & Gardens and thoroughly enjoyed the weekend! Great dollar value if you're interested in all locations mentioned. The museum was easy to find and offered plenty of parking in a lot shared with the EdVenture Children's Museum. They had many exhibits that our 7 & 12 year old enjoyed but they thoroughly enjoyed the second floor galleries with the dinosaur exhibit and the habitat exhibits. Staff was very friendly and helpful when fielding our questions. They also enjoyed seeing the the history of SC through the years represented through artifacts and the changes from the colony, war, and industrialization of the city with mills and the railroad. They also have a planetarium and a 4D shows offered throughout the day. Highly recommend adding this to your itinerary if you are in the Columbia area! The selection of exhibits were fun to see and educational.

My family had such a wonderful time at the museum. We loved the mix of science and history. We…read morereally enjoyed the natural history and telescope exhibits. My son really enjoyed an old theater where you could see vintage cartoons. And one area you could see a picture of what the building looked like when it was a factory. They have a nice gift shop and a café. If you do not want to leave to eat lunch. We left and came back for lunch and there was still plenty of parking. We would definitely come back to the museum and see the war part that we didn't get a chance to see.

We took advantage of the CoolPASS offered by Experience Columbia, SC getting us access to the…read moreEdVenture Children's Museum, South Carolina State Museum, and the Riverbanks Zoo & Gardens and thoroughly enjoyed the weekend! The EdVenture Children's Museum shares the parking lot with the State Museum but if you have a young one - the children's museum can be an all day excursion due to the vast activities, hand-on learning and fun that is available in this massive space. Clean spaces and helpful staff. A great stop to add if you are passing through or to even plan a family trip around! Highly recommend! Affordable entry prices and annual memberships available if you are a local!

This is a cute place geared towards the little ones. There is plenty of space and parking and the…read moreprice is low to get in. I wish some of the things weren't messed up, broken or closed. I think it will be great when the Dino part is open. My kids really loved the arts and crafts upstairs. I really enjoyed the planes but things are broken and need updated. I am glad I went and I think if you're in the area you should visit but I wouldn't go out of my way to visit

My children and I were excited to visit the museum. We love visiting places and learning especially…read morewhen they are about the general area in which we live. We had a li ready pass so we did not have to pay for admission (it's really low to begin with). I was slightly disappointed, once we showed our library Las we were just left to wonder, I had to ask questions about where to go and what was open etc. the signage was great and explained all of the items in the house. Once we went outside to tour the outer buildings it felt like we felt left to our own and none of the building were open.

ROAM IF YOU WANT TO!…read more This little museum caught my attention as I was looking at other museums in the area. It looks like a private residence but is actually a replica of a trading post built in 1765. The original post was sized by the British during the American Revolution and used a fort. It was eventually retreivd and was the private home of John Cayce for approximately 100 years. The town of Cayce was named in his honor in 1914. The museum chronicles the history of the first European settlers in the area. The most impressive since item is the table belonging to the British Commander, Lord Cornwallis. It dates back to 1760-1790 and is in impressive condition considering that it is totally exposed to the public. I actually touched it. On the second floor, you will find ancient Native American tools and art. It is a vast collection of over 5000 pieces. It is quite interesting and well preserved. Much of the collection was owned by a private citizen who handed it to his son, who then added to the collection and eventually donated it to the museum. We loved this museum because it was so unique. It had a lot of cool pieces that you could actually see and touch. However, I do wish that there had been more written information provided next to the exhibits because I do enjoy reading about everything I see and knowing the origin of the items displayed. When you enter the museum, you are greeted by Ms. Rachael who will give you a brief tour of the main area downstairs and then allow you to freely roam around. It was very nice and quiet as we were the only visitors at the time. There is no charge for this museum but donations are gladly accepted.

My sisters and I had fun exploring the museum! We didn't know the second floor was up for…read morerenovations until sometime mid January so we got to explore the first floor only. It was still fun and interesting to catch out. The staff were kind and informative as well!

A great art museum in Columbia SC. We went to see the French painters exhibition…read more The exhibition was well worth the trip.

Amazing find in Columbia to learn about history that's more centralised around South Carolina's…read morerich military heritage! There is a huge emphasis on the Confederate side when it comes to their civil war exhibits and it is truly unique to learn and see this part of American history! Also they have exhibits for Revolutionary War, Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, and the global war on terror; Not as exhaustive as the civil war exhibits but still very awesome to see! I would definitely come back!!

I love museums but confess I have trouble loving this one. It just reminds too much of all the…read moredeaths and struggles of the Civil War with problems we are still forced to confront today. However, we must maintain history and for that purpose the Confederate Relic Room and Museum does a decent enough job of it. Surprisingly the museum has all kinds of drawings of Confederate naval ships which naval operations were far more extensive than I had thought and are near completely overlooked within the museums of Gettysburg. They also have a gun, saber, sword and uniform collection, the labeling of some of which I would question such as what is clearly a sabre being as a sword. The pride of the museum however seems to be its flag collection. Indeed it is said to have the most inclusive battle flag collection of any museum within the United States, though however, it is focused mostly upon the regiments & etc. of South Carolina. Though I can't exactly say I'm a fan of it, as a museum it is unique with well set up displays; hence Four Stars.

I will start off by saying that it's very small. Just one room with two antique fire trucks and…read moreother antiques behind glass. But I do highly recommend it! We were the only ones there and Fireman Ricky (a very sweet gentleman) gave us his undivided attention. My kids are 5, 3, and 20 months and they all enjoyed it. They got a fireman badge sticker and had so many questions about the equipment. We spent just under an hour there. Admission is free. There's a fire station next door and they watch from the side as the fire trucks left and returned. I highly recommend!

THE CITY'S HEROES DESERVE BETTER…read more This museum is located at the Columbia Fire Department Headquarters. It is not so much of a museum as a collection of items and antiques that have just been tossed together. They have an original steam engine from the early 1900's and a beautifully restored 1929 fire truck on display. But here is where I almost lost my mind!!!: The fire engine had chairs and tables leaning against it and it had a flat tire. That classic steam engine is accessible, you can actually lick it and touch it. Now, I am of the belief that such precious and priceless antiques should be protected and incased in glass. The general public should be able to appreciate these items from afar so that they will endure for generations to come. I had hoped to see a hall of fame dedicated to all of the fallen heroes and while there were some plaques, there were no photos or descriptions of their time in service and death. Basically, our fire heroes deserve so much better and city officials need to find a way to gather the resources needed to create an appropriate museum to display all of those items that are gathering dust and that just need more care and appreciation shown. These items should definitely be displayed in a more dignified manner. At the very least, perhaps a group of volunteers could work to find a way to better organize the space and to display the many great items in this museum. Surely, someone has to share my concern!

They just had my detailed, FACTUAL original review (and one owners unprofessional, snooty…read moreresponses) removed for being too truthful I guess. Here's a shorter version... cute photo opps, but do NOT waste your money on their birthday packages. It's average at best, contrary to one of the owners being an "event planner". Go take your pics and celebrate your event elsewhere as it is not worth the money they charge for what you get. Is that better?

Yall About to Get ALL this black Girl Magic!! I love that it…read moreis a black female owned establishment that caters to any age, race or gender. *They literally had at least 25+ different stations that were great for photo Ops! *I LOVE that they offer you a selfie ring light that you can personally use (for free) and there is also one at each station (very unique) *I LOVE that one of the co-owners (Melissa) was there to greet you with a warm welcome and a smile. *I LOVE that there is ample parking and the venue is easy to get ton *I LOVE that they change the rooms according to the seasons which is very unique and creative. This was a fantastic experience that you can enjoy alone or with friends. And check them out for their Friday night turn up!!! Enjoy the photos! *all rooms not listed *

HC does a really awesome job in the community taking care of the houses, gardens, and history for…read morefuture generations. They have events for all to get involved in, lots for the kiddos also. Ive attended quite a few houses in the area, all the guides are amazing. They give tours almost daily, check the website for tours and events. All the houses are Gems. Im actually glad that I finally slowed down enough to get involved with the community more. The houses don't have handicap ramps, lots of stairs, but you can enjoy the gardens for free. Great opportunity to learn the history of the USA, you will not get this info in high school. Never to late to educate.

Historic Columbia has a great tours and garden walks of the historic homes! I didn't attend a tour…read morebut I would still recommend stopping by to enjoy the garden and homes from the outside.

My sister and I loved our tour with Historic Columbia. We visited the Hampton-Preston house. The…read morestaff was very friendly and honored my sister's student discount even though she didn't have her ID with her. Our tour guide is a current history PhD student at USC. She was very knowledgeable and clearly had a passion for history. The tour group was small and intimate, allowing us to ask as many questions as we desired. I would love to go back sometime and do one of the three other tours. Highly recommend this group!

Perhaps I'm biased, but I love Historic Columbia and so should you. The houses are beautiful and…read morewell-loved, the tour guides are knowledgable and friendly, and the gift shop has something for everyone. They are in the process of updating and adding more landscaping which makes the surroundings of Robert Mills and Hampton Preston even lovelier. They also are out there doing good for the historical community and are very involved in helping preserve the history of Columbia. Finally, they are creative - they do historic happy hour tours, neighborhood walking tours, spooky nighttime graveyard walks, and awesome fundraising events. This is really an organization to be aware of and get involved with.