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We've compiled the best of the best in Columbia - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Recognized as the largest horological collection in North America, this museum is home to thousands of timepieces and time-related items. The museum's location isn't random: Columbia has had a long clockmaking and watchmaking tradition. In the museum, you'll see early sundials and water clocks; a German Black Forest organ clock with 94 pipes; moon-phase wristwatches; and other timekeeping devices from around the world.
Lancaster County--based Turkey Hill Dairy, best known for its ice cream, created this interactive extravaganza where kids can milk a mechanical cow, climb aboard a vintage milk delivery truck, and shoot a Turkey Hill commercial. In the Taste Lab you can concoct your own flavor and taste-test it; outside the lab, you can have unlimited samples of the company's flavors. Grown-ups may enjoy the displays on dairy farming and the family-owned company, but mostly this one is for the kids. Reservations are recommended for the Experience, and required for the Taste Lab.
Just a few blocks from the waterfront, Wright's Ferry Mansion was the residence of English Quaker Susanna Wright, a silkworm breeder and intellectual who counted Benjamin Franklin among her friends. Docents guide visitors around the 1738 stone house, which showcases period furniture in the William & Mary and Queen Anne styles as well as an extensive collection of English needlework, clothing, ceramics, and glass, all predating 1750.
