Fryar in the parking lot. The Stringer Discovery Center for small children opened in 1997. The museum has an "Official" Story Chair (named Sammy) designed and donated by Storyteller Mike Miller (greatstoryteller.com) for the benefit of children and storytellers. Travelling exhibitions at the State Museum have included Body Worlds Vital in 2012, Titanic: the Artifact Exhibition (100 yr. anniversary) in '12, Secrets of the Maya in '12, King Tut in '13 and '03, Dinosaurs: A Bite Out of Time in '14, Julius Caesar: Roman Military Might in '15, "RACE: Are We So Different?" in '16, Savage Ancient Seas in '17, the 2017 Solar Eclipse in Columbia in the observatory, The Wizard of Oz in '17 for Halloweeen, Hall of Heroes (superheroes) in '19, 50 Years of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing (with items from SC astronaut Charles Duke) in '19, Sherlock Holmes: the International Exhibition in '20 (with items from the Museum of London), "Spanish Explorations in the Caribbean and the US, 1492-1570" (for the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery) in '90, WWII and SC in '91 (for 50 years since the Pearl Harbor attack), "Rock, Roll, and Remember: Hootie & the Blowfish and Other SC Greats" in '97, The World of Insects in '98, Star Trek: The Exhibition in '99, The Magic School Bus in '99, Inside Africa in '04, Prehistoric Predators in '04, Napoleon Bonaparte in '06, Aliens: Worlds of Possibilities in '07, Leonardo da Vinci in '08, an '08 exhibit on several of the movies (like The Patriot and Forrest Gump) filmed in SC ("Hollywood Comes to South Carolina"), "Football in the Palmetto State, 1889-2000" in '08, Pirates in 2010, and 150 years of the Civil War in SC in 2011. References External links South Carolina State Museum Website Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina History of South Carolina Museums in Columbia, South Carolina Art museums and galleries in South Carolina Science museums in South Carolina History museums in South Carolina Natural history museums in South Carolina Museums established in 1988 1988 establishments in South Carolina Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Columbia, South Carolina Paleontology in South Carolina Cotton mills in the United States