State Museum offers free general admission for kids

The South Carolina State Museum is celebrating the holiday season with special discounted admission, from December 26 – January 3.

Guests are invited to explore four floors of exhibition galleries and experience exciting holiday shows, such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 4D, Laser Holidays, and more.

“We are happy to offer families the opportunity to enjoy a fun, safe space for the holiday break,” said State Museum Executive Director, Amy Bartow-Melia. “By limiting our gallery and theater capacity, we are able to provide guests with a socially distanced environment thanks to our spacious building. We are also requiring face coverings for staff and guests, per Governor McMaster’s executive order.”

Museum guests are invited to enjoy free children’s general admission for ages 3 -12, from December 26 – January 3. General admission includes access to all four floors of the museum’s permanent exhibition galleries, as well as changing exhibitions such as the recently opened, Early American Face Vessels, and the popular Apollo 50: Journey to the Moon.

This will be the last week for guests to experience Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 4-D in the Rev. Dr. Solomon Jackson, Jr 4D Theater. Featuring the same stop motion animation as the beloved television classic, this 10-minute show delivers a visually brilliant, high definition 3-D experience with interactive effects such as seat vibration – and even snow. Laser Holidays will run through January 3 in the digital dome BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Planetarium and includes dancing laser lights set to popular holiday music. Plus, the exterior of the planetarium will continue to transform into a giant snow globe after dark throughout the holiday break thanks to our partners at Ambient Media: Event Lighting, Sound and Displays.

The State Museum is also offering Virtual At-Home Winter Camp sessions December 28 – 31. These daily morning camps will focus on a different theme for each session, including natural history, astronomy, art, S.T.E.A.M, and more. Campers can participate on their own and/or families are welcome to join in and work together throughout the session. Camps are $25 for the general public and $20 for museum members. Registration is now open on the museum’s website at scmuseum.org.

General admission to the State Museum is $8.95 for adults, $7.95 for Seniors, free for children (ages 3-12) from December 26 – Jan. 3, and free for museum members all year. Planetarium experiences and 4-D shows are an additional charge. Due to the museum’s need to manage guest capacity, online advance ticket purchase is highly recommended at scmuseum.org.

The State Museum will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The museum will re-open this Saturday, December 26, and follow regular operating hours: 10 am to 5 pm from Tuesday through Saturday, 12 pm to 5 pm on Sunday and is closed on Monday.