We legally finished school at the beginning of March by logging 180 days for the 2018-2019 school year. As a fun adventure, I came up with the idea of seeing how many free museums we could visit in our area. Here's our experience at all the free museums we could find in the areas of Pickens, Greenville, Anderson, and Oconee, SC.
Here's a few notes on my experiences with museums:
1) All the museums listed in this blog post are FREE. We always bring a donation, though.
2) After we visit a museum, I don't require "enrichment" projects of my kids. Instead, we spend the entire drive home excitedly talking about what we saw and learned. I've found it "sticks" much better that way!
3) We've always enjoyed museums. Unfortunately, I've always been sad that we're often the only people at the museum when we go (granted, we go during weekday, business hours). I hope this little adventure of ours changes that!
4) I know there are free museums we didn't make it to. There's several town-museums that are only open for a couple of hours each weekend (and we don't fault them for that as they are run by volunteers) that we simply couldn't get to. It doesn't mean we won't, though!!!
5) My kids' ages range from 4-10. We've been going to museums since my youngest was a baby. There is no too-young or too-old!
Enjoy!!!
We've visited the Pickens County Museum of Art and History several times in the past. It's a wonderful free museum with a variety of displays. We visit monthly for a homeschool day in which we pay a nominal fee that is well worth the activities that are provided but general admission is free. This one is a favorite of ours!
This museum is located in Pendleton, SC near Tri County Technical College. It's great for kids and has lots of hands on displays. If you've read through the Little House series, your kids will recognize many of the tools that Pa used in the books. They've recently expanded the outdoor part to include a lovely play area, replica of a one room school house, and some farm animals. We go here often but these pictures are from a couple of years ago when we went (I wasn't sure we'd make it back in time to get it on the blog).
Here's a few notes on my experiences with museums:
1) All the museums listed in this blog post are FREE. We always bring a donation, though.
2) After we visit a museum, I don't require "enrichment" projects of my kids. Instead, we spend the entire drive home excitedly talking about what we saw and learned. I've found it "sticks" much better that way!
3) We've always enjoyed museums. Unfortunately, I've always been sad that we're often the only people at the museum when we go (granted, we go during weekday, business hours). I hope this little adventure of ours changes that!
4) I know there are free museums we didn't make it to. There's several town-museums that are only open for a couple of hours each weekend (and we don't fault them for that as they are run by volunteers) that we simply couldn't get to. It doesn't mean we won't, though!!!
5) My kids' ages range from 4-10. We've been going to museums since my youngest was a baby. There is no too-young or too-old!
Enjoy!!!
*****
Our first stop was the South Carolina Museum and Library of Confederate History located in downtown Greenville, SC. We were right by it after a trip to the zoo so we decided on a whim to swing in. The museum is run by volunteers. Two gentlemen were inside and were a wealth of information. They gave the boys some great fun facts and were happy to answer questions.
*****
We had recently visited the Belton Area Museum. It's a quaint museum in the small town of Belton, SC. On the day we went, there were many STEM activities set up for the kids. The drive was long but plenty of pasture and pretty views along the way.
*****
We've visited the Pickens County Museum of Art and History several times in the past. It's a wonderful free museum with a variety of displays. We visit monthly for a homeschool day in which we pay a nominal fee that is well worth the activities that are provided but general admission is free. This one is a favorite of ours!
*****
We feel very lucky to live near this gem in Pickens, SC. In addition to viewing the cabins and grits mill, a lovely nature trail, and historical cabins, Hagood Mill has built a building around actual Petroglyphs that were discovered in the area. There's a museum and you can go into a dark room for a wonderful presentation about the petroglyphs. My boys had their imaginations awakened as they came up with their own stories of what was meant to be depicted in the carvings.
*****
*****
The Lunney Museum is located in Seneca, SC. It's a restored early 20th century home that belonged to the Lunney family. We were pleasantly surprised with this museum. The gentleman who walked us through the house was a wealth of knowledge and my boys hung on his every word. I was impressed with all the information they took from our visit. Next door (or actually just behind) the Lunney House is the Bertha Lee Strickland Cultural Museum. It changes its displays (we joined the email list so we'll know when there are new exhibits). Currently, it houses striking photography featuring the 521 All Stars, an all African American baseball team started in the '40s. We will definitely be returning to both of these!
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