Celebrate International Museum Day by visiting an Upstate museum

Today is International Museum Day. But before you dismiss it as a celebration of stuffy structures with archaic artifacts, consider that museums can be everything from science and nature centers to historic sites and children’s exhibits.

There are a lot of great reasons to visit a museum: you learn things; they’re a great venue for spending time with family and friends; and they make you feel good. (A study by Harris Interactive showed that people are happier when they spend money on experiences rather than material things.) Museums also have become trendy thanks to a London blogger who started the worldwide social craze #MuseumSelfieDay to reframe the museum experience. Museum Selfie Day is celebrated on January 21 so mark your calendars to get in on the fun in 2020.

Upstate South Carolina is fortunate to have many museums for residents and visitors of all ages to enjoy. Here’s a partial list to help you celebrate International Museum Day right here in the Upstate:

Cherokee County History & Arts Museum Gaffney SC
This artifact-based, interactive facility houses nearly 8,000 square feet of permanent exhibits ranging in topic from Native Americans and the American Revolution to geology and moonshiners.

Children’s Museum of the Upstate Greenville SC
Experience 80,000 square feet and 19 exhibit galleries, with components and programming in the areas of arts, humanities, sciences, health, nutrition and the environment. Suitable to children ages 1-15.

Children’s Museum of the Upstate Spartanburg SC
Experience 6,000 square feet of exhibits and programs designed to support preschool children ages birth – 5. With exhibits specific to Spartanburg’s landmarks, culture, and community, the museum features seven exhibits.

Greenville County Museum of Art Greenville SC
Home to the world’s largest public collection of watercolors by iconic American artist Andrew Wyeth, GCMA also has an impressive collection of paintings and prints by contemporary artist Jasper Johns, the largest institutional collection of pottery by enslaved artisan David Drake, and the largest collection outside the Smithsonian of works by South Carolina-born artist William H. Johnson.

Greenville Cultural Exchange Center Greenville SC
The Greenville Cultural Exchange Center is an African-American history museum and culture center dedicated to the preservation of African-American history in the Greenville area.

Greer Heritage Museum Greer SC
Housed in the former Greer City Hall building, which was originally the Greer Post Office built in 1935, Greer Heritage Museum offers expanded exhibits that give visitors a glimpse at Greer’s rich history.

Roper Mountain Science Center Harris Hall of Natural Science and Technology Greenville SC
Studies in life science, microscopy, geology, environmental studies, ecology and marine science enrich the lives of the students and visitors who explore this building.

Historic Price House Woodruff SC
Price House tells the stories of how free and enslaved residents changed the Upcountry from a frontier to an antebellum society through improved roads and communications, more non-farm businesses, and an explosion in cotton farming.

Hub City Railroad Museum Spartanburg SC
The Hub City Railroad Museum tells the uniquely important role Southern Railway and others played in Spartanburg’s history and how the railroads were connected to the textile and peach industries in South Carolina.

Model Trains Station Taylors SC
A family-friendly destination. Model Trains Station displays and runs G, O, S, HO and N scale trains. Part of the Mini World of Trains® family.

Museum & Library of Confederate History Greenville SC
This museum is home to numerous artifacts and displays portraying the Civil War and home life in the South during that time.

Museum of the Cherokee in South Carolina Walhalla SC
This museum is home to Native American artifacts and special exhibits.

Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum and Baseball Library Greenville SC
Located across from Fluor Field, the five-room brick house in which Shoeless Joe Jackson lived and died contains a few of his personal belongings and more than 2,000 books related to baseball.

Spartanburg Regional Museum of History Spartanburg SC
The Museum’s permanent exhibit offers a walk-through of Spartanburg history from the early days of Spanish explorers like Juan Pardo to the military training camps of the 20th century’s two World Wars and beyond.

Upcountry History Museum Furman University Greenville SC
Spanning two floors of permanent and changing exhibit galleries, the Museum tells the story of the Upcountry’s 15 counties and features a year-round calendar of changing exhibits and programs that dive deeper into history, art, science and culture.

US Military History Museum & Educational Center Greenville SC
MHCC has military vehicles, armaments, historical period attire, communications equipment, books and more.

Wilkins House Greenville SC
A historic landmark and treasured part of Greenville for more than 140 years, the Wilkins House is among the few remnants of Greenville’s Gilded Age when the city rose to prominence as the Textile Capital of the World.