Beginning March 18, The Charleston Museum will be undergoing major repairs to its HVAC system. As a result, the Museum may be closed some afternoons due to the temperature in the building. Our historic houses will remain open during this time. Please check our website or call 843-722-2996 for daily updates.

Permanent Exhibit

Becoming Americans: Charleston in the Revolution

In Becoming Americans, explore Charleston’s important role in the American Revolution, from protest to independence.

Exhibit highlights: Francis Marion personal items. Artifacts related to British and American Revolutionary War soldiers, including a rare cartridge box. George Washington inaugural button.

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Permanent Exhibit

Bunting Natural History Gallery

In the Bunting Natural History Gallery, experience an extraordinary presentation of fossils, specimens, bird and animal mounts, and geologic examples, which together tell the story of Lowcountry natural history. Learn about the diverse array of creatures that once called this area home and the remarkable changes that have taken place in its landscape over hundreds of millions of years.

Exhibit highlights: Mounted skeletons of Pelagornis, the world’s largest known flying bird, and other prehistoric animals such as an 18-foot long crocodile and a 13-foot tall giant ground sloth. Fossil invertebrates and plant species that are nearly 300 million years old and extensive fossil examples from the Ice Age. Cast of jaws from a giant Megalodon, an extinct 40-foot long shark that once roamed South Carolina coastal waters. Mounts of extinct bird species such as the Carolina Parakeet, Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and Passenger Pigeon and a wide variety of modern birds that still inhabit the area.

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Permanent Exhibit

Lowcountry History Hall

In the L​owcountry History Hall,​ see materials related to the Native Americans who first inhabited the South Carolina Lowcountry as well as the colonists and enslaved African Americans who transformed the region into an agricultural empire.

Exhibit highlights: The Walled City. Some of the earliest known artifacts related to the settlement of Charleston. Rare slave badges, which allowed African American slaves to be hired out as laborers. “Dave” jars and other Edgefield pottery, produced by African American slaves. Tools used in rice cultivation and other plantation artifacts.

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Permanent Exhibit

The Armory

In the Museum’s Armory, see excellent examples of historic weaponry, dating from 1750 to the twentieth century, with uses that ranged from military to more personal applications such as hunting and dueling.

Exhibit highlights: Revolutionary War and Civil War era swords. A variety of flintlock, percussion and repeating pistols, muskets and rifles. Weaponry and equipment from World War I and II.

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Permanent Exhibit

City Under Siege: Charleston in the Civil War

In City Under Siege, see the Museum’s newly renovated exhibit concerning Charleston’s role in the Civil War, featuring updated display panels and images, along with additional artifacts.

Exhibit highlights: Table and chairs used at the drafting of the Ordinance of Secession. Pike from John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry. Artillery shells fired into and around Charleston. Civil War swords, pistols and rifles. Clothing of a soldier killed at the Battle of Secessionville, fought near Charleston. Soldier and civilian personal effects, including the prosthetic arm of Colonel Peter Gaillard who was badly wounded defending Battery Wagner.

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Permanent Exhibit

Early Days

In the Early Days gallery, see exotic collections from around the world, representative of the Museum’s nineteenth century cosmopolitan collecting focus.

Exhibit highlights: An Egyptian mummy and mummy case. Greek and Roman artifacts. Jarred biological specimens preserved in rum. Plaster cast of the monumental statue of Pharaoh Rameses II. Animal specimens and skeletons from around the world including a two-headed snake, Indian python, anteater and spiny echidna.

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Permanent Exhibit

Kidstory

The Charleston Museum is pleased to present Kidstory, a fun and exciting, hands-on exhibit for children, where the fascinating history of Charleston and the Lowcountry comes alive.

Exhibit highlights: Interactive displays, designed specifically for children, will capture their interest and spark a love of history for years to come. Examine creatures under a microscope, hear stories of the Lowcountry, illuminate a lighthouse, raise a pirate flag, play in a “kid-sized” historic mansion, learn and have fun! It is all part of Kidstory.

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Permanent Exhibit

Historic Textiles

In the Historic Textiles Gallery, the Museum features regularly rotating exhibits from its rich historic textiles and clothing collection, one of the finest in the southeastern United States.

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Permanent Exhibit

Charleston Silver

In the Loeblein Gallery of Charleston Silver discover the impressive work of the South’s finest craftsmen and women, from the colonial era through the Victorian Age.

Exhibit highlights: George Washington’s christening cup. Strawberry Chapel communion service buried during the Civil War to prevent its falling into enemy hands. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney’s Revolutionary War gorget. Historic snuff boxes.

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