Courtesy S.C. State MuseumSouth Carolina State Museum
[ Columbia, South Carolina ]
The South Carolina State Museum is making big changes for the better.
“It’s South Carolina under one roof,” public relations director Tut Underwood said, “The expansion will add even more to that. It’s going to be a really big deal.”
The main projects of the expansion are an observatory, a planetarium, a 4-D theater and the Ariail Collection of Historical Astronomy.
The new observatory will have a round dome, but the room will be square, which is unique. But “the real jewel of this thing is the Alvan Clark telescope,” Underwood said. The telescope will be the first in the country to allow students within the whole state to control what is being viewed through the lens via the Internet. And those visiting the museum will be able to look through the eyepiece of this remarkable refracting telescope.
The planetarium will be the largest in the state, with a 55-foot dome, and the 4-D theater will allow audiences to experience films in an innovative way. A 4-D theater means that the audience will be able to feel and smell what is going on in the show through their seats.
The Ariail Collection of Historical Astronomy is a collection of antique telescopes donated to the museum by Robert Ariail in 2011.
The expansion is expected to open in mid-April 2014.
Groups can visit the museum while it’s in the process of expanding. Collections highlighting cultural history, science and technology, and South Carolina art are still open.
www.scmuseum.org
Country Music Hall of Fame
[ Nashville, Tennessee ]
You can’t visit Nashville without having some discussion about country music; so why not visit the Country Music Hall of Fame and get the full experience. The museum is “a really good way to understand Nashville,” senior museum sales manager Brad Henton said.
The museum is adding 200,000 square feet to include the Hatch Show Print Letterpress Shop, a 10,000-square-foot event hall, an 800-seat CMA theater and more.
The Hatch Show Print Letterpress Shop is one of the oldest shops in the United States. It has made iconic posters featuring stars like Johnny Cash and Garth Brooks. Henton said when the shop is added to the museum, some of the walls will be glass so visitors can see the production.
Expansions are predicted to open in the spring. But there is plenty to see while construction is in progress. One notable highlight is a gallery that features a new exhibition every year.
Beginning in August, the gallery will feature an exhibit on contemporary country singer Reba McEntire.
Near the main museum campus, Studio B is the oldest recording studio in Nashville. More than 35,000 songs have been recorded at the studio, including more than half of Elvis Presley’s songs. Groups can take guided tours of Studio B or even arrange to have a private recording session there.
