Educational Museums in Myrtle Beach for All Ages

Not all gold is made of metal. In fact, the most prized material in the world can be found within the walls of a humble building. The fact that you can access museums for free or for a small entry fee is a wondrous blessing. Museums are storehouses of informational treasure covering nearly every genre you can imagine. Indulge your curiosity in niche interests, or fuel the bright light of questioning in your kids – the museums in Myrtle Beach are educational vaults just waiting to be mined by inquisitive minds!

Explore Vast Worlds of Science

Learning and play should always go hand-in-hand! If you’re traveling to Myrtle Beach with kids, make a pitstop for educational fun at kid-friendly museums like WonderWorks and EdVenture. You could spend an entire day immersed in the endless questions that comprise our physical reality, and there would still be more to discover!

WonderWorks

WonderWorks is a one-of-a-kind amusement park-turned-science museum, making education feel like playtime with over 100 hands-on exhibits. Across six Wonder Zones, kids and adults of all ages will explore complex scientific concepts through interactive games. Watch 100,000 volts of electricity pass from your steel armored hand to the tesla coil, and blow bubbles the size of a person to understand light refraction in action. Try on a life-sized replica of an EVA suit, and create landscapes in the Dig It Sandbox. A Myrtle Beach art museum as well, WonderWorks even features visual illusion art pieces and bizarre Dr. Seuss-themed taxidermy sculptures.

EdVenture Myrtle Beach

Do you have a wannabe pilot or future astronaut in the family? Advanced STEM concepts are made accessible to children aged eight and under through the interactive educational exhibits at EdVenture. They will love climbing through a spaceship, dabbling at mission control, examining an actual airplane engine, and many other activities geared toward the fields of aviation and astronomy. Through graphical content, children’s literature, historical footage, flight simulation, and hands-on elements, EdVenture brings the mysterious universe of the sky within grasp of even the youngest minds!

Witness History In Person

Not even yet a hundred years ago, our Carolinian ancestors fought valiantly and successfully against the evils of World War II. About 350 years prior, the Carolina coastline became home to one of America’s first and most influential British colonies. Only a two-hour drive up the shoreline from Myrtle Beach are two museums in Wilmington, NC, made of actual vestiges from such periods in our nation’s history.

Battleship North Carolina

World War II saw many brave soldiers take to the sea to defend their country and homes. At Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington, you’ll get to walk the decks of the U.S.S. North Carolina just as they once did, learning about those 2,300 sailors’ daily lives, the ship’s role in the Pacific side of the war, the standard guns and combat procedures, and more. From Guadalcanal to Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the BB55 battleship campaigned all over the Pacific, collecting insightful human stories along the way. These oral histories come to life amid primary-source archival materials displayed on the upper and lower decks of the ship. Visit any day of the year on your own or participate in a group tour.

Old Baldy Lighthouse

In 1585, Sir Richard Grenville passed Bald Head Island and Smith Island before settling the infamously mysterious Roanoke Island colony. Situated at the Cape Fear River entrance leading into the Port of Wilmington, these two islands played strategic roles during the British colonial period, the Civil War, World War II, and other historical eras.

Today, Old Baldy Lighthouse still watches over these waters after 200 years. Bring a picnic to the Old Baldy Grounds, and embark on a two-hour guided tour of Bald Head Island’s 400-year-long history. Then, climb to the top of the lighthouse for stunning coastline views, and learn more incredible stories at the Smith Island Museum of History.

Indulge in Your Niche Interest

Perhaps you have memorized all the stats of your favorite football team’s players. Or maybe you are a pop-culture enthusiast enthralled by the journey to stardom. It may be that you grew up around cars and have yet to encounter a model unfamiliar to your vast stores of mechanical knowledge. Your unique interests are what makes you special as an individual. Cultivate your personal passions at these niche museums in Myrtle Beach!

Hollywood Wax Museum

Centrally located at Broadway at the Beach, the Hollywood Wax Museum brings into reality your dream of snapping a photo with your favorite celebrities! Embrace your rebellious youth alongside James Dean, and test out your goofiest facial expressions next to Jim Carrey. What makes Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. tick? In how many movies total has Jennifer Aniston starred? You’ll learn about your idol’s lives, achievements, and quirks at this museum dedicated to the legends of the red carpet!

Wheels of Yesteryear

Does a look under the hood get your gears turning? Does the sight of your dream muscle car send your heart into overdrive? If so, you can’t miss a tour of the 150+ vehicles at Wheels of Yesteryear in Myrtle Beach. As one of the most comprehensive vintage automobile collections in the Southeast region, Wheels of Yesteryear features American-made cars and trucks from across the eras, car-themed collectibles, and pop culture artifacts that will send you spiraling down memory lane!

Pro Football Hall of Fame

The exclusive Gridiron Glory exhibit at the Pro Football Hall of Fame features over 200 rare artifacts, photos, and documents that outline the impressive history of American football. Feast your eyes on one of the first leather helmets ever used, Tom Dempsey’s half-foot kicking shoe, a football from a 1917 game with Jim Thorpe and the Canton Bulldogs, and much more. The interactive exhibits tell fascinating stories about the most legendary players of the game and connect the world of football to the greater American culture and history. 

Embrace Creative Possibilities at a Myrtle Beach Art Museum

The Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum offers interactive and educational exhibitions of visual art focused on profound themes and worldviews. The finest Myrtle Beach art museum prides itself in providing a platform for Southern-made art especially, including paintings, pastels, photographs, sculptures, prints, collage, and more. In addition, you’ll find an intriguing collection of antique maps and cartography dating back to as early as 1606. Spend a refined afternoon gaining inspiration from the ruminations of the South’s greatest fine artists, and learn about this Lowcountry region through the eyes of its creatives.

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In this day and age, information is worth far more than even gold. Museums in Myrtle Beach like WonderWorks, EdVenture, and Battleship North Carolina foster your kids’ sponge-like ability to absorb concepts, empowering them on their educational journeys. Others, like the Wheels of Yesteryear, the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Wax Museum, grant the unique personal pleasure derived from investing in your favorite hobbies. Meanwhile, a Myrtle Beach art museum and the local historical sites can infuse your vacation with inspiration and meaning. When you’re on vacation in Myrtle Beach and your mind craves stimulation, look to the local museums for some fun ways to tease your brain!

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