Cool place to go spend some time. They have a nice planetarium show which my son loved. We love to…read morelook at the Megalodon mouth and the Mastodon. They always have different shows or exhibits that come through. I was overjoyed at the Disney Costumes exhibit that came at the end of last year! We have gone to the Children's museum across the street to let the kids get some energy out, then gone to the State museum so they can be a little calmer and more focused. Great to do on rainy or super hot days so being inside is still fun.

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.

I absolutely LOVED my visit to the Columbia Museum of Art! It might not be the Louvre or the Met,…read morebut for a city the size of Columbia, I don't know if it's possible to craft and curate a better art museum. They had such a great collection, replete with amazing religious artwork, postmodernist works, artifacts from ancient China, and... a work from Claude Monet! As someone who's a huge fan of Impressionism, the fact that a piece from Claude Monet is sitting in Columbia is simply amazing. Kudos to the CMA for being able to procure this painting, and I hope that it remains at the museum in perpetuity.  In terms of the lesser-known works, they had a really cool exhibit from a local artist (well, from Spartanburg, which I'll consider "local",) which detailed the ever-increasing melding of technology and humanity. The exhibit displayed what was essentially a set of bronze busts that served as a combination of human and robot heads, with which the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI,) is as important and prescient as ever.  Finally, they had a cool section for kids called "The Cross Hatch," where kids could experiment and learn about the different art techniques in a fun and interactive environment. In addition, when I walked into the museum, they were setting up for a corporate event, and I was told by the gentleman working the front desk that the museum also serves as an event venue for all sorts of different occasions.  The only, very very *very* minor complaint that I have is that the downstairs rooms were closed, as they were busy setting up a new exhibit. Of course, I understand that the rooms have to be closed in order to set up a new exhibit, I just wish that they weren't closed when I happened to visit. Lol.  All-in-all, the Columbia Museum of Art is an amazing art museum, I'd recommend that anybody pay it a visit, and I hope that it's around for a long, long time!

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!

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.

Pretty neat museum. A lot of interesting exhibitions and kids loved it. Would come here again…read more And best part admission was FREE.

Do not let the building size fool you...this place is huge! We had a wonderful time seeing all the…read morehistory within these walls. Kid friendly and plenty of rest areas/bathrooms. It is free but donations would be appreciated! They have wonderful kid events and camps to make the whole family feel included. The amount of historic weaponry is incredible. All artifacts have accurate and detailed descriptions. I highly encourage you to make this stop during your visit to Columbia.

Went to see Backrooms and the theater was absolutely packed, and seeing that movie in such an…read moreenvironment really added to the fun. It was such an amazing experience. The theater itself was clean, they had a great selection of popcorn seasonings, and the candy/soda/snack selection was great as well. Highly recommend seeing a movie here!

I come here for the chance or to get a glimpse of a great film. I've seen several here , dating…read moreback to their first location. This was the first theater where I saw Bloody Sunday, Moon Rise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and too many documentaries to count. These movies will make you feel something inside, whether that be joy or sorrow. Of course main stream films are played here but I go to find gems like The Leftovers the last great film I saw in recent years. I'm excited to see the new movie about Anthony Bourdain soon. The fresh butter popcorn and the ice cold fountain drinks really hit the spot. This is the best theater I've ever been to in my life. If you're not coming here to watch films you are missing out. But that's okay I don't want everyone taking the good seats.

1st time at this children's museum it's interactive exhibits and play areas were missing supplies…read moreneeded to use them. Majority of the play areas were disorganized and missing pieces (I get it it's a children's museum) Several hand sanitizer stands were empty and dusty so bring your own hand sanitizer There is a noticeable lack of shaded areas outside around the water table The dinosaur monitor displaying giant dinosaurs on the wall is cool. We were expecting a bit more based on the advertising.

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!

Attended my daughter's family day for JROTC. It was simple to get on base, have my id ready and…read moremake sure the windows were down so they could see who was in the back. The signage for the event was a bit misleading as the second sign was blank and easy to pass. We figured it out soon. The staff we encountered was great. My daughter had a great time.

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.

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.