South Carolina State Museum

By Laurie Bower Epps

To continue the fun of our Girls Weekend, we decided to find an activity to do on the way out of town. Originally, I'd wanted to go to Congaree National Park, but all ranger led activities are on Saturday's. To add to this last minute change of venue, the tremendous amount of rainfall has left Congaree a bit flooded. As mom, I decided to wait on going to Congaree until later in the season. The only major museum in Columbia that I hadn't been to was the State Museum (SCSM). Plus, they had presentation on the National Parks in the Planetarium. The rain did come back this day, but we missed it by being safely inside the museum.

Chloe in Clark Kent's Phone Booth

They had an exhibition called Hall of Heroes on exhibit, and I thought due to Chloe's love of Marvel comics, it'd be a hit with Chloe. I loved Wonder Woman as a young lady about her age, and I carried my Wonder Woman lunch pail proudly. Although I think they've pulled out now, they also had a very cute gift shop of Marvel comics gifts. We spent most of our time in the Hall of Heroes, but we did look in other areas as well. Back in my day, we actually read the comic books. I sort of wish reading would be more in vogue with this generation.

Chloe's Fashion: Cute Koala tee & jeggings by Arizona, J.C.Penney's, Trojan sandals were bought at Shoe Show in Columbia as emergency shoes the night before.

You wouldn't think so but Chloe had a thing for phone booth's with this exhibition. My middle child, Ellen loves Doctor Who, and the phone booth from that show was here as well. But, in a way, the Doctor Who phone booth was more fun. It moved! It surprised both of us.

There were lots of cool scenes that were staged throughout the exhibit of the various Marvel characters. I will post all them within the week. To view any pictures that maybe didn't make it onto my blog, become a fan of my writer page on Facebook. Simply like my page, and you'll follow my professional posts. 

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The entrance to the state ecology section of the museum seemed to be a must see before we left. Also, it's strategically positioned in front of the fossils (including dinosaurs and sharks). I admit, I was more interested in this section than Chloe was. She was anxious to get on to see the dinosaurs and sharks.

My fashion: Striped tee, black crop pants and blush windbreaker are all from Lane Bryant. Yoga/Memory Foam flip-flops by Skechers are from Rack Room Shoes.

Chloe loves sharks, so this was our obligatory shark picture. After spending all of our Sunday afternoon at the museum, she gave away at this point that she's been the SCSM before! So this was just my first trip.....

Chloe actually went to the SCSM when she was in third or fourth grade as a field trip. In defense of the SCSM, she still had a marvelous time. They change out their exhibitions quite regularly. She even asked to come back in the summer for their space exhibition. We'll see.....

I can't say enough good things about this museum. There's something for everyone. Even parents with young children can use the tickets to get into a discovery museum that we didn't go into across the parking lot. The only disappointment all day was how small the fossils area is. There's really only two complete dinosaur fossils, and a tyrannosaurus rex skull. But they did have a viewing section much like the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles to view scientists at work.

We didn't even see half the museum on this trip, but were still satisfied. The museum boasts 4 floors to explore, a planetarium, and discovery area with a playground for younger children. There's also a small cafe that was closed when we visited, but there are drinks for sale in the gift shop. If hunger strikes, and you're traveling with children, there's a McDonald's less than a half a mile away. Just hang on to your tickets, and they'll let you back in. They also had an impressive gift shop with something for everyone. But what truly impressed me about this particular visit, that the SCSM managed to represent all stages of South Carolina history under one roof. I had hoped to make it to the sections on early colonization, the revolutionary war, and civil wars, but we just didn't make it that far. SCSM, till next time! Be warned, we'll be back.