State Museum offers free kids admission this weekend

The South Carolina State Museum is celebrating the holiday season with new shopping opportunities in The Cotton Mill Exchange and discounted children’s admission, from November 27-29, over the Black Friday Weekend. Guests are invited to explore four floors of exhibition galleries and experience 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 weekend,” 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 November 27 – 29. 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.

New this year, guests can experience Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 4-D in the Rev. Dr. Solomon Jackson, Jr 4D Theater. The show features the stop motion animated classic with 3-D visuals and interactive effects. Laser Holidays will be playing in the digital dome BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Planetarium and includes dancing laser light set to holiday music. Planetarium and 4D shows are an additional charge.

The museum store, The Cotton Mill Exchange, is continuing the holiday celebration with new shopping opportunities for the general public and museum members. New this year, for those not able to visit in person, the store has expanded the number of items available for purchase online and is now offering a curbside pick-up option. Shoppers are also invited to book a virtual appointment with store staff which includes a one-on-one video conference session to select and purchase items right off the store shelves and arrange to have them shipped or picked up curbside.

Museum members can enjoy their regular discount of 10 percent off store purchases throughout the season. From Dec. 5 – 6, members will also receive an extra 10 percent off, for a total of 20 percent off, when they shop in the store or online.

The State Museum is open 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 5 pm on Sunday and is closed on Monday. The museum will be closed for Thanksgiving Wednesday, November 25 and Thursday, November 26. Due to the museum’s need to manage gallery and theater capacity, online advance ticket purchase is highly recommended at scmuseum.org.