Charleston Museum - Charleston, SC - Charleston and the Lowcountry since Colonial Times

In the middle of downtown Charleston is the Charleston Museum. Located at 360 Meeting Street the museum is across from the Charleston Visitor Center. The museum also runs two historic houses in downtown Charleston: the Heyward-Washington House and the Joseph Manigault House.

Admission to the Charleston Museum is $10 for adults and $5 for children. Ticket packages that include the historic houses are also available at a discounted rate. The museum is open on Monday through Saturday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and on Sunday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

Advertised as America's first museum, it was founded in 1773 by the Charleston Library Foundation before it was mostly destroyed in 1778 by a fire. Exhibits feature both the cultural and natural histories of the South Carolina Lowcountry, which includes Charleston. Given the museum's age it contains exhibits that range from settlement to the nineteenth century that seek to promote learning and education about Charleston and the surrounding area.

Historic exhibits include a vast silver collection, table settings, artifacts from rice and cotton agriculture, slave tags, and trade goods. The natural history exhibits include fossils from a twenty-eight million year old bed, with prehistoric whales, crocodiles and birds. The museum does not focus on just one time period or socio-economic class. Everybody from slave, to Native American, to the wealthy land owners is included. The museum is well rounded and gives a total picture of life in the Lowcountry.

The Charleston Museum also hosts special exhibits that are not permanent. In the past they have included a display depicting the lives of African Americans as sharecroppers after the Civil War, a collection of lantern and lights that show the evolution of lighting in America, and a hands-on exhibit for kids of items from around the world. The museum also takes special exhibits, such as one about the British Red Coats during the American Revolution, to various institutions in the state of South Carolina.

An exhibit focused towards children uses hands-on learning to teach kids about the history of Charleston and the Lowcountry. It features storytelling, murals, natural discoveries, and interpreters in period costume talking about their life in historic Charleston. A toys and game collection shows children what entertainment and life was like for kids in different time periods.

Certain parts of the museum contain artifacts from around the world. Some of them are part of the original museum collection, lending insight into what the original creators of the museum deemed worthy of display.

During the summer, the Charleston Museums hosts camps and workshops for children. The topics offered revolve around history and nature, including magic, pirates, puppets, archaeology, and dinosaurs.

The museum shop offers gifts that are inspired by the collections in the museum, needlework kits, toys, collectibles, and books.

While the Charleston Museum seems to be a place for first time visitors to explore the history of the area, many visitors have said that it is good once but that nothing has changed much over the decades. Others have said that is above average for such a locally focused museum.