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Charleston Museum

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Charleston Museum Review

Although housed in a modern-day brick complex, this institution was founded in 1773 and is the country's oldest museum. To the delight of fans of Antiques Roadshow, the collection is especially strong in South Carolina decorative arts, from silver to snuffboxes. There's also a large gallery devoted to natural history (don't miss the giant polar bear). Children love the permanent Civil War exhibition, with plenty of Confederate uniforms, and the interactive "Kidstory" area, where they can try on reproduction clothing in a miniature historic house. A recent addition is the Historic Textiles Gallery, featuring changing displays that showcase everything from couture gowns to antique quilts. Combination tickets that give you admission to the Joseph Manigault House and the Heyward-Washington House are a bargain at $22.

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    Fine historic museum

    A large, detailed historic museum concerning Charleston and the area. There's much about the area's prehistory, plantation life, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War, as well as local fauna (stuffed) and flora which are displayed in dioramas. Also has a collection of local ceramics, musical instruments, and ironwork, as well as some examples from the museum's collection when it was more a display of oddities. Well worth seeing.

    by bachslunch, 3/31/09

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