South Carolina State Museum

Housed in a converted nineteenth-century textile mill on the Congaree River in Columbia, this museum was the first fully electric textile factory in the world when built in 1894. Its four floors interpret South Carolina through the themes of art, cultural history, natural history, and science and technology, with a planetarium, an observatory, and a 4D theater added in a modern renovation. Exhibits range from prehistoric fossils and a giant shark model to decorative arts and the state's role in aviation.