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4-D
Inside the new 4-D theater at the State Museum, visitors enjoy multi-sensory interactions with seasonal short films.
Photo by Sean Rayford
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Alvan Clark telescope
The latest transformation of the 19th-century textile mill building showcases a 1926 telescope by Alvan Clark & Sons, famed as makers of some of America's finest refracting telescopes.
Photo by Sean Rayford
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S.C. State Museum
The dramatic new entrance to the State Museum.
Photo by the S.C. State Museum
"Look up at the stars," physicist Stephen Hawking once told an audience. “Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist.”
A great place in South Carolina to take Hawking’s advice is the newly expanded South Carolina State Museum, where you can peer through the eyepiece of an historic telescope at the stars, the sun, the planets and the wonders of the universe.
For more than 25 years, the State Museum in Columbia has been telling the story of our state. The latest transformation of the 19th-century textile mill building, completed in August, added a 2,500-square-foot observatory that is capped by a rotating dome and houses the museum’s new showpiece: a 1926 telescope by Alvan Clark & Sons, famed as makers of some of America’s finest refracting telescopes.
The telescope’s massive steel tripod legs extend from the fourth-floor observatory right down through the concrete floor of the museum’s newly renovated lobby, where they greet visitors at the front door and make an iconic backdrop for a photo op.
The antique Clark telescope is the main attraction among the museum’s collection of 25 American-made telescopes, heralded as one of the best such collections in the world.
“This represents when Americans became a force in building telescopes, in building observatories and, ultimately, in astronomy,” museum education director Tom Falvey says of the Robert B. Ariail Collection of Historical Astronomy. “This is our pride and joy.”
A camera mounted on the newly digitized Clark telescope records high-resolution still images and videos of the sun during daytime viewings, displaying them on a large, flat-screen monitor, where guides can explain details to museum visitors. Nighttime viewings offer opportunities to observe the moon and any other heavenly bodies within view at the time.
“What people really want to see is the planets,” Falvey says. “The winter sky is great for that.”
The $23 million upgrade also added a ground-floor planetarium, where guests can sit back and watch shows projected on a rounded, digital dome above their heads. The panoramic view offers a unique screen for enjoying interactive astronomy shows, live-sky shows, laser-light shows set to music, and educational films on space, art and history.
The planetarium—the largest in the state—makes the most dramatic exterior change to the historic mill building. “This is where 21st-century glass meets 19th-century brick,” museum public relations manager Anna Kate Twitty says of the four-story-high windowed walls that offer a peek at the globe-shaped planetarium inside.
Another highlight among the museum’s new features is its upgraded 4-D theater. Bubbles, smoke, scents, misting water, puffs of air, and seat vibrations are a few of the sensory thrills in store during the short films shown here. The experience is synced to the current film, so when a short version of The Polar Express is on screen, guests can expect “snow” showers and the aroma of hot cocoa and pine needles while they watch.
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Get There
The South Carolina State Museum is located at 301 Gervais St. in Columbia.
HOURS: Monday and Wednesday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Tuesday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; Sunday, noon–5 p.m.
SOLAR OBSERVATION: Monday, 2–4 p.m.; Tuesday–Friday, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. and 2–3 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.; Sunday, 1–4 p.m. (weather permitting)
GENERAL ADMISSION: Adults (ages 13–61), $8.95; seniors (62 and over), $7.95; children (ages 3–12), $6.95. Military discount is $1 off. First Citizens First Sundays: general admission is $1 the first Sunday of the month. Additional tickets are required for planetarium shows, 4-D theater films and blockbuster exhibits.
DETAILS: (803) 898-4921; scmuseum.org
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By the numbers
- 11,000 pounds: Weight of each 40-foot steel tripod for the 1926 Alvan Clark observatory telescope
- 30 feet: Depth below museum floor that Alvan Clark telescope’s steel tripod legs are buried
- 17: Years invested in planning and executing project
- 75,000: Square footage of new and renovated museum space
- 6,000: Square footage of telescope gallery
- 55 feet: Height of planetarium’s digital dome
- 145: Seats in planetarium
- 124: Seats in 4-D theater
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Upcoming events
For up-to-the-minute details, including showing times for planetarium shows, 4-D movie schedules and observatory events, visit scmuseum.org.
- Second Shift Twosdays: Extended museum hours to 8 p.m., with special planetarium and 4-D theater shows and nighttime sky viewings
- Observatory sights through January include nighttime lunar viewings, nebulae, stars and double stars, and the Andromeda galaxy; in late February/early March, Jupiter will be visible
- Planetarium shows: The Christmas Star, starting Nov. 8; “Laser Holiday” music and light show, starting Nov. 8; Back to the Moon for Good; Earth, Moon and Sun; Two Small Pieces of Glass; and Seven Wonders.
- 4-D theater shows: The Polar Express: 4-D Experience, starting Nov. 8; Planet Earth: Pole to Pole; Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs—The 4-D Experience!
- “Building a Universe,” space-themed art exhibit, Lipscomb Art Gallery, through March 15, 2015