

Mon: Closed
Tue - Fri: 10 AM - 5 PM
Sat: 10 AM - 5 PM
Sun: 12 PM - 5 PM
South Carolina State Museum301 Gervais StreetColumbia, SC 29201
803-898-4921
The museum is home to a wealth of astronomy resources and content for guests, educators, researchers and more.
The museum is closed today
South Carolina State Museum301 Gervais StreetColumbia, SC 29201
Explore the furthermost reaches of the universe through the lens of the most powerful telescope ever built in “James Webb Space Telescope: The Story Unfolds,” at the South Carolina State Museum.
Since the release of its first images in July 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope has astounded astronomers with unprecedented views of distant galaxies, nebulae and even exoplanets. Developed by the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL, this 42-minute live, interactive show not only features these groundbreaking images in brilliant 4K resolution but also highlights the incredible science behind the James Webb mission.
The State Museum is proud to be one of only two locations outside of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center to debut this special planetarium experience that will bring new discoveries to audiences. David Weigel, the center’s planetarium director, says, “We are passionate about scientific story-telling that is both entertaining and educational, complemented by immersive real-time visualizations that are produced by the INTUITIVE® Planetarium team.”
Continuously updated with new images from NASA, guests will see the stunning details of dying stars, colliding galaxies, strange worlds orbiting other suns and more displayed within the museum’s 55-foot digital dome planetarium. If you thought Webb’s images looked amazing enough on a mobile device or computer screen, imagine being immersed in them as they fill the dome above you!
Witness these incredible images as you’ve never seen before and understand how James Webb is ushering in “a new era in astronomy” this spring in the museum’s planetarium.