Educational Resources

Feb. 12 - July 24, 2022 This past exhibition at the South Carolina State Museum explored the visual expressions of human connections featured in works from the collection. Just as there is a wide variety of ways in which we connect to one another, portraits offer a varied and fascinating view of one-on-one relationships. Face to Face highlighted these relationships with portraits that showed how portrait artists have posthumously portrayed the deceased, honored their idols, satirized and documented relationships through painting, ceramics and wood. The exhibition featured several new...

Nov. 13, 2021 - May 8, 2022 This exhibition traced the history and art of South Carolina made quilts. Featuring pieces from the museum’s collection, the exhibition highlighted both the objects and their makers for an in-depth look at the quilt making process and how it relates to cultural traditions throughout South Carolina history to the modern day. Even though the exhibition has closed, you can still explore it online!

Nov. 1, 2020 - April 25, 2021 The traditional American stoneware face vessel has become an iconic art form, with important roots in South Carolina. George H. Meyer’s collection of over 100 early American face vessels provides us with the rare opportunity to see the tradition unfold in regions east of the Mississippi River and Texas, from the 1820s to 1940, including 20 early face vessels from South Carolina. This exhibition demonstrated that potters were not artists working in isolation, but rather interrelated craftsmen and often families sharing ideas and techniques. While these vessels have...

Sept. 5, 2020 - Jan. 2, 2022 What is the difference between art and design? When can art also be design? This exhibition addressed these questions and showcased South Carolina art with a graphic sensibility, both “fine” and commercial. From mass-produced media of the late 19th century to the concert posters of today, the exhibition explored South Carolina’s strong and diverse connection to the graphic arts. Included in the show were Jasper Johns’ prints, Shepard Fairey’s political posters, commercial art and advertisements from the 1950s and 60s, and work by artists such as Sallie Frost Knerr...

Aug. 15, 2020 - Oct. 8, 2022 This mini display in the museum’s Community Gallery highlighted the ways in which businesses, universities, and volunteers in South Carolina joined in to produce Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic. From face masks and sanitizing solution to innovations in 3D printing, South Carolinians found numerous ways to answer this call.

June 24 - Sept. 27, 2020 From tribal women leaders, to our first female Governor, this exhibit utilized objects, images and stories to explore how women engaged with the political history of our state. The display featured a wide variety of political material from the 20th century shows how women have always had diverse political opinions and concerns not captured within any one political party.

Jan. 18 - Sept. 7, 2020 This popular blockbuster exhibition offered an interactive experience combining science with history and culture to bring to life the historic underpinnings of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s rich and vibrant stories. Museum visitors learned how Sherlock Holmes, a scientific expert ahead of his time, used seemingly trivial observations of clues others missed to solve some of his era’s most puzzling mysteries. His practices and techniques, created in the mind of doctor-turned-author Conan Doyle, encouraged a change in the way police work was conducted, and remain in...