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.

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.

The best movie theatre in Columbia!! Great atmosphere, great food, wonderfully kind staff.read more

I love "The Nick". It's a very intimate theatre with comfortable and clean seats. The ambience is…read morespecial. The popcorn and tickets are a good deal. The movies shown are cutting edge; both artsy and top new releases. My favorite activity in the Columbia area.

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

Soooo many people there for family day and graduation, but everything was very organized and the…read morelines ran quickly. The ceremony was amazing!!!! Such an honor to see the young men become soldiers. Brought tears to my eyes. Thank you to all who have served! What a joy to be part of the army family.

I had never thought of writing a review for Fort Jackson but after coming across their Yelp page I…read morefigured why not... I completed basic training here late summer / early fall of 2013. I arrived at the beginning of September and the weather was disgusting. It was hot af and very humid. It started to feel nice towards the end of the month and once graduation came around in November, it was pretty chilly. My experience was startling at first as I had never had a grown man / or woman yell at me, let alone hurt my feelings.... But what did I expect, I signed myself up for this and knew this was not gonna be a walk in the park. I heard it all and not once did I take it personal.. My drill sergeants were tough and so was the physical aspect of it. You have to be both mentally and physically tough for this as this is definitely not a vacation. There were days we were up for 12+ hours and we had to do it all over again the next day... Several people from my platoon quit right at the start and they did not get to go home right away. More then a handful of people quit in my company, both men and women as they could not handle the intense training. Fort Jackson is very old and we encountered a few paranormal activities / sightings while we were out in the field. My company was located in the old trailers at the time so we didn't have it too nice as the other companies did.. Overall if I had to do basic training at Fort Jackson all over again I would. I've been out of the army a few years now but would gladly do it all over again.

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.

Very cute small museum on the campus of University of Columbia. It's free and open to the public…read more Great way to escape some of the heat and take a break in the ac while learning some history.

This is a really beautiful monument, and I'm glad that I stopped to take the time to check it out…read more I loved how the sculptures making up the monument seemingly came to life, and depicted everything from the African slave trade, all the way up to the current African-American experience in the US. In my opinion, it's important not to shy away from the ugly parts of our history as a state and a nation, and this monument does a great job of illustrating those moments with grace and class, as well as highlighting the achievements and contributions of African-Americans in the US and the state of South Carolina. If you're ever near the state capital for any reason, I'd strongly encourage you to take a few minutes to stop and check out this amazing monument.

For those of you who don't know about this monument. It's a very impotant part of African American…read morehistory because it's the first monument of it's kind on any state house grounds in the USA. It captures African American History from times of slavery. Where we were carried over on boats from different regions in Africa (Ghana, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Senegal) up until present day where it shows us making strides in various prominent industries. There is a big lack of places where you can go to absorb African American history and culture, and it's nice to see more and more places popping up in the last couple of decades that aim to change that. (The museum in Philly, the new Smithsonian in DC, etc.) It was an honor to witness this memorial and take pictures in front of it.