Discovering SC: Your Kids will Love Edventure

As we are moving to SC this summer, we are so excited to visit all that our soon-to-be new state has to offer. So we made a trip to Edventure. Edventure is a children’s museum is packed with intriguing exhibits located in Columbia SC. My children were so excited to visit Edventure that I could hardly keep up with them once we reached the sidewalk entrance.

We visited the museum for about 4 hrs until I coulsd tell my kids had run thier cosuerse for the day. I believe 4-5 hrs is enough time for children to play and be entertained by exhibits without getting bored.

Edventure has two floors of exhibits with the majority of the exhibits on the main floor. You can find a complete list of the exhibits on the Edventure website, but I will show you some of my kids’ favorites:

Eddie

Eddie is the world’s largest 10 year old boy. Eddie’s impressive 40ft stature is one of the first things you see when you enter Edventure. Just to get an idea os his massive size, his shoe is the size of a compact car & his wrist watch is made from an actual clock. To be honest I thought my youngest would be frightened by this large size but I guess that sweet kid-like face was enough to convince her he was friendly. But Eddie has a secret. Right behind him kids can play inside his heart, brains, stomach, and intestines. Slides and stairs connect the different parts of his body teaching children about the chambers of the heart and the digestive system.

World of Work

While my research showed that World of Work was technically one exhibit, it was definitely the central place of activity at Edventure. It stretches along most of the first floor. The exhibit starts with a miniature library where locals can actually check out books and kids can read, play with puppets, and dress up. It includes a shopping market, farm, fire station, car service area, diner, and construction zone.

The shopping area had a working bakery and meat counter with pies, donuts, and cuts of meat. The farm was completely different with a tractor, peach trees (with peaches to be picked), and a small dairy. My daughters spent just about half of their day cooking for us at the diner and waiting on the tables (which by the way conveniently had adult size chairs).

There was also a life size car and fire truck that kept kids busy. When we visited the construction site, my son’s face gleamed when he had the opportunity to move a life-size crane to a loading dock where we loaded the bucket with balls to a mixer where the balls dumped into a giant mixing vat making a bunch of noise and returning the balls back to the floor for the process to begin again.

My Backyard

My Backyard is a designated play space upstairs for children 3 and under. Since my children were too old to play, I only peeked inside. It looked like a new mom’s sanctuary. The lights were not bright and it was very quiet. The room also included a nursing area.

The Newsroom

We also spent quite a bit of time playing in upstairs in the newsroom. It’s a room where young aspiring newscasters and meteorologists can learn how news is created and practice giving reports. My kids loved making up news and weather reports. They were super creative in thinking of news reports. I had the opportunity to pretend to be a viewer of my kids’ news shows and reacted to their news reports. It was so much fun.

The museum also has a play area outside but it was a chilly day and the play area looked like there was water play. I already knew I had to avoid that area, rather than asking all 3 kids to stay out of the water. Just a heads up, you may want to bring an extra change of clothes and a wet bag, especially in the warmer months when kids will be more likely to want to splash around in water.

Visiting Edventure

Times, admission, and other details might change depending on season. Please check the Edventure website before visiting to ensure correct information.

Edventure is open from 9 am – 5 pm to the public Monday through Sunday.

Admission fees are $11.95 for children & adults and children under 2 are free. There are also discounts for groups, seniors, military, and educators (with ID).

There is a large free parking lot right beside the museum.

The museum had plenty of seating for adults and had elevators and handicapped accessible bathrooms. There were also family bathrooms.

The exhibits overall were in good condition, though several of the electronics worked only off-and-on or were broken.

For families wanting to fill their day, the museum is right beside the large South Carolina State Museum with it’s 4D Planetarium and Columbia also has the massive Riverbank Zoo (7 minutes). Another after-museum-activity in the warmer months could be walking or picnicking along the Columbia Riverwalk (4 minutes). The Colonial Life Arena is also nearby and depending on the week might offer family-friendly entertainment. I can’t wait for my family to visist all these wonderful places.

What is your family’s favorite part of visiting Edventure in Columbia?