Visit to the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia with Janie

Back in May, not long after school let out for the summer, I had an opportunity to visit South Carolina’s State Museum in Columbia with granddaughter, Janie.

This actually was our second adventure at the State Museum. But we didn’t bring recording equipment along during the previous visit. This time we were prepared!

The exhibits and programs at this museum are remarkable. I don’t know how they manage to do it, given their limited staffing and budget. But somehow they manage.

Since we couldn’t possibly cover every display and exhibit, we focused three that Janie found especially interesting. The first was the one-room schoolhouse you see in the photo above. This is the real thing. Disassembled, restored, and moved here from Spartanburg County in the northwest part of the State.

I was surprised by Janie’s second choice of exhibit: the H. L. Hunley. An experimental Civil War vessel, said to be the world’s first submarine to sink an enemy ship.

Janie selected the Museum’s extensive pottery exhibit for the final segment of our video tour. This exhibit includes, among others, pieces from the old Edgefield district and the work of celebrated slave potter, Dave.

Click below to view a short video of the visit: