South Carolina State Museum, State museum in Columbia, United States

The South Carolina State Museum occupies the former Columbia Mills Building, a cotton duck mill of 1894, on the Congaree River in downtown Columbia. Its four floors hold permanent and changing exhibits on art, cultural history, science and technology, and natural history, including a life-size megalodon named Finn and a Columbian mammoth. A digital dome planetarium, 4D theater and observatory opened in 2014.

The Columbia Mills Building opened in 1894 as a cotton duck cloth mill, the first completely electric textile mill in the world and the first major industrial installation for General Electric. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and the South Carolina State Museum opened inside it on October 29, 1988. On some floors the original mill flooring survives, with textile brads and rings embedded in the wood.

The museum displays objects that tell the story of South Carolina's development, from Native American artifacts to Civil War items and industrial innovations. These collections help visitors understand the region's history and identity.

The museum occupies the former Columbia Mills Building on the bank of the Congaree River along the old Columbia Canal in downtown Columbia. The four floors are visited from the ground up, with the Lipscomb art gallery, Cotton Mill Exchange gift shop and Crescent Café on the first floor. The Stringer Discovery Center on the lower level is set aside for small children.

The museum's largest artifact is the building itself: the former Columbia Mills Building, which opened in 1894 as the first completely electric textile mill in the world and the first major industrial installation for General Electric. On some floors the original mill flooring survives, with textile brads and rings embedded in the wood.