Interpretive Centers
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Edisto Beach Interpretive Center
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For generations humans have observed and interpreted cultural events and the mysterious and fascinating world of nature. Before books, videos, movies, or computers ever came into being, human observations were passed down from one generation to the next through oral histories. In the modern context, “interpretation” is the term used to describe communication activities designed to improve understanding.
At South Carolina’s entertaining State Park Interpretive Centers, you can enjoy interactive exhibits, hands-on displays and guided tours designed to help you understand the history, culture and amazing natural world of the Palmetto State.
Spice up your South Carolina vacation. Click on the “Add” icon beside a State Park listing below to include a fun visit to a SC State Park Interpretive Center in your South Carolina Trip Planner. You’ll soon understand why South Carolina State Parks are a favorite family vacation destination.
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Completed in 1859, Redcliffe’s Greek-Revival mansion was the home of James Henry Hammond and three generations of his descendants. Hammond, whose political career included terms as a United States congressman, governor of South Carolina, and United States senator, was perhaps best known during his lifetime as an outspoken defender of slavery and states’ rights. The grounds are ideal for weddings and receptions. Contact the park for availability and rates.
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 Beech Island |
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Historic house museum tours focus on plantation life from 1828-1960. The grounds are ideal for weddings and receptions. Contact the park for availability and rates.
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 Union |
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The museum tells the story of Jackson's boyhood experiences during the Revolutionary War and highlights life in the South Carolina backcountry from Andrew Jackson's birth in 1767 until he left South Carolina in 1784.
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 Lancaster |
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The Civilian Conservation Corps Museum, part of the John Drummond and Holly Self Drummond Environmental Education Conference Center, is home to an extensive set of interactive exhibits describing the life and times of the men of the Civilian Conservation Corps who built this park and 16 others across South Carolina during the 1930s.
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 Ninety Six |
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With the theme “Choosing to Protect Our Coast,” the Edisto Interpretive Center helps promote the wise use of coastal resources. It is headquarters for Edisto Beach State Park’s interpretive programs and curriculum-based field studies, and for the S.C. Department of Natural Resources’ education and research services. An exhibit in the center features interactive displays, including a touch tank, which helps visitors understand the fragile resources of the ACE Basin estuarine reserve, the largest such natural reserve on the East Coast.
The Interpretive Center is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
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 Edisto Island |
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Tucked away in the remote last vestiges of a colonial-era rice plantation, Hampton Plantation State Historic Site is both bucolic and evocative.
The plantation’s Georgian-style mansion and well-kept grounds serve as an interpretive site for the system of slavery that helped build such plantations into the greatest generators of wealth in early American history. They also tell the story of the freed people who made their homes there for generations after emancipation.
Visitors can explore the mansion, wander the plantation grounds or just look out upon Wambaw Creek at the remains of rice fields that once stretched as far as the eye could see. George Washington had such a view when he stood on the Hampton family’s portico in 1791.
A historic kitchen building, huge live oaks, camellia gardens and archaeological sites also tell the story of Lowcountry rice culture.
Hampton is an ideal place to discover the surrounding Santee Delta’s natural beauty, which inspired the works of a South Carolina poet laureate, Archibald Rutledge, who lived here and gave it to the people of South Carolina as a legacy.
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McClellanville |
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The Hunting Island Nature Center nurtures the child in us all. “What’s that?” “Why?” “How?” Find answers to these questions and more. Discover the wonders of nature on a barrier island, as the Nature Center has live animals and exhibits that delve into the diverse habitats of Hunting Island State Park. Enjoy public programs seven days a week from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and Tuesday through Saturday, March to November. Join a park naturalist as we search for life in the water and under the sand and amaze you with stories of the ocean's creatures. Tackle life in the Lowcountry with our skills-based programs. Kayak with us in our tidal lagoon each Friday from March through November. And don’t miss loggerhead sea turtle nesting season, as first nesting mothers, then emerging hatchlings, captivate visitors from May through October. Call the Nature Center for specific program schedules and information.
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 Hunting Island |
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The 2,500-square-foot Education Center – featuring a saltwater touch tank and a live baby alligator among its exhibits — was created to share with visitors the interdependence of human beings and the natural community, focusing on the intersection of land, marsh and sea that makes the Grand Strand such an attractive and critical environment.
The center is located at the marsh boardwalk.
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 Murrells Inlet |
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Exhibits tell the story of the Cherokee Indians who once roamed this area and their relationship with the European settlers of South Carolina. The center is open daily from 11 a.m. to noon and 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
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 Sunset |
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The Environmental Education Center includes a wetland ecology lab and exhibit gallery designed to increase visitor awareness and understanding of the environment.
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 Bishopville |
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