EdVenture Childrens Museum

Meet Eddie, the enormous seated figure who anchors the museum, a boy sculpture towering roughly forty feet and often described as the world's largest child. What makes Eddie special is that he is not just to look at, he is to climb through. Children enter and journey inside his body, moving through his stomach, up past his heart, and into his brain, learning how the body's systems work by exploring them from within.

Eddie turns a lesson in human anatomy into an adventure, the kind of exhibit children remember long after they leave. He has become the museum's mascot and its most famous feature, an instantly recognizable landmark that draws families back again and again.

Beyond Eddie, EdVenture fills gallery after gallery with hands-on exhibits designed to let children explore through play. There are miniature versions of the grown-up world, a grocery store, a firehouse, a doctor's office, where kids can try on roles and act out real life. Other areas invite building and engineering, water play, art-making, and simple science experiments.

The whole museum is built on the belief that young children learn best when they can touch, move, and try things for themselves. Exhibits are geared toward preschool and elementary ages, giving families with young children a place where curiosity is not just allowed but encouraged at every turn.

EdVenture shares Columbia's riverfront with the South Carolina State Museum, its neighbor in a former textile mill complex. Together the two make an easy full-day destination for families, with the children's museum for hands-on play and the State Museum for science, art, natural history, and a planetarium under one roof.

The location puts families near the Congaree River and the Three Rivers Greenway, and within a short walk of the Vista, Columbia's warehouse arts and dining district. A morning at EdVenture pairs naturally with a riverside walk or a meal in the Vista, rounding out a family visit to the Midlands capital.

Columbia, the state capital, offers plenty more for families within a short drive. The Riverbanks Zoo and Garden, one of the best-regarded zoos in the region, straddles the Saluda River just across town, and the State House grounds and the University of South Carolina's historic Horseshoe give a sense of the city's history.

For travelers passing through the Midlands, EdVenture is an easy and rewarding stop, especially for families looking to break up a drive with a few hours of hands-on fun. Combined with the riverfront and the zoo, it makes Columbia a genuinely kid-friendly stopover.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.