Columbia, South Carolina is only a two-hour drive away from Charleston, making it an ideal day trip for parents with young children.
A recent excursion to our state’s capital brought our little family of four to the one-of-a-kind children’s museum, EdVenture, home of Eddie, the iconic larger-than-life 40-foot-tall kid that children can explore to learn all about the inner workings of the human body.
Eddie is a 40-foot-tall exhibit at Edventure Children's Museum that lets kids explore the inner workings of the human body.
Large enough to keep kids busy for hours, but small enough to tackle in a long afternoon, EdVenture is easy to navigate with plenty of unique exhibits to explore. Dalmatian Station was a fast favorite of my two truck-loving boys, featuring a full-size fire truck where children can climb inside the driver’s seat and take the wheel as the windshield turns into a screen showing the exciting journey to put out a fire in a neighborhood home. Dressing up like a firefighter and crawling through a dark tunnel underneath the exhibit gives children plenty of imaginative play, while teaching them important safety information about what to do in case of a real fire.
The perfect place to play, the child-size grocery store, farming exhibit, and little diner all invite children to take on roles in the community, learning about where food comes from, and how it is distributed and prepared.
MedVenture is an exhibit that offers valuable information about different roles in the medical field, and how different parts of the body work, all through imaginative play. Children dress up like doctors and nurses and explore a play ambulance, examination room, pharmacy, and even a veterinarian’s office.
Outdoors, gem mining, an expansive water table, and a real-life prop plane offer more hands-on exploration. The Aha Factory Maker Space is a fun place to get creative together, where long tables filled with containers of odds and ends inspire parents and children alike to get crafty. A wind tunnel inspired us to create something that would fly, so we spent time experimenting with different designs until one finally took off!
The flight simulators and real cockpit on the second floor of the EdVenture Children's Museum give children and parents training in what it’s like to fly and land an airplane.
Speaking of flight, climbing into a real cockpit overlooking the river into West Columbia was easily the highlight of our family’s visit. Even the adults were absorbed in the flight simulators available on the second floor of the museum, giving children and parents training in what it’s like to fly and land an airplane.
With a space for toddlers to play, a small garden, a library, and more, EdVenture is truly a children’s oasis in Columbia, South Carolina. Special programs are led by staff throughout the day in various parts of the museum, so be sure to check the day’s scheduled events when visiting. Tickets are affordable at $13 per person ages 2+, and the museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, Wednesday through Saturday, and 12 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Learn more by visiting https://edventure.org.
