Charleston Museum

TO EDUCATE CHARLESTON AREA RESIDENTS AND VISITORS ABOUT THE NATURAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA LOWCOUNTRY THROUGH COLLECTIONS, EXHIBITIONS, PRESERVATION, CONSERVATION, RESEARCH AND RELATED PROGRAMMING.

CURATION OF COLLECTIONS: THE CHARLESTON MUSEUM'S COLLECTIONS CONSIST OF THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE ASSEMBLAGE OF HISTORIC SOUTH CAROLINA CULTURAL AND SCIENTIFIC MATERIALS KNOWN, AND MANY HAVE NATIONAL OR INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE. THEY NUMBER OVER 297,000 LOTS AND OVER 2.4 MILLION OBJECTS. COLLECTING FOCUSES INCLUDE ARCHIVAL MATERIALS, DECORATIVE ARTS, FIREARMS, FURNITURE, HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, CLOTHING AND OTHER TEXTILES, AND NATURAL HISTORY. THEY ARE OVERSEEN BY A CURATORIAL STAFF OF EIGHT PROFESSIONALS. PARTICULARLY SIGNIFICANT OBJECTS (OVER 6,000) ARE ON DISPLAY TO THE VISITING PUBLIC IN EXHIBIT GALLERIES AND THE MUSEUM'S TWO HISTORIC HOUSES , WHILE OTHERS ARE USED EXTENSIVELY FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES. (CONT. ON SCH. O)

EXHIBITION, INTERPRETATION AND FACILITIES OPERATIONS: THROUGH EXHIBITION AND INTERPRETATION OF ITS COLLECTIONS, THE CHARLESTON MUSEUM SEEKS TO EDUCATE THE GENERAL PUBLIC ABOUT THE NATURAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA LOWCOUNTRY. STAFF DO THIS THROUGH PERMANENT AND SPECIAL TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS AT THE MAIN MUSEUM FACILITY AND BY PRESENTING TOURS OF THE MUSEUM'S TWO NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK HOUSES, THE HEYWARD-WASHINGTON HOUSE (C. 1772) AND JOSEPH MANIGAULT HOUSE (C. 1803). PERMANENT EXHIBITS PRESENT A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW OF REGIONAL HISTORY, WHILE TEMPORARY EXHIBITS FOCUS ON DIVERSE ASPECTS OF LOWCOUNTRY HERITAGE AND FEATURE RARELY DISPLAYED ARTIFACTS. TOGETHER, THESE EXHIBITS DISPLAY OVER 6,000 OBJECTS FROM THE COLLECTIONS. (CONT. ON SCH. O)

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS: EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS AND CHILDREN ARE A KEY COMPONENT OF THE CHARLESTON MUSEUM'S MISSION. THE MUSEUM HAS TRADITIONALLY PLACED GREAT EMPHASIS ON CHILDREN'S EDUCATION AND ROUTINELY HOSTS SCHOOL FIELD TRIPS FROM AROUND THE STATE AT THE MUSEUM, ITS TWO HISTORIC HOUSES AND THE DILL SANCTUARY, A 580-ACRE WILDLIFE SANCTUARY, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE MUSEUM. TWO FULL-TIME EDUCATION DEPARTMENT STAFF, ASSISTED BY A CORPS OF PART-TIME STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS, OFFER OVER TWENTY PROGRAMS FOR SCHOOL GROUPS, INCLUDING TOPICS RELATED TO NATIVE AMERICANS, AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY, THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, CIVIL WAR, ARCHAEOLOGY, PALEONTOLOGY, ARCHITECTURE, AND HISTORIC CRAFTS. (CONT. ON SCH. O)