Capital City Lake Murray Country

Youth Tours

Bring your classrooms to life! From Science to History, Social Studies to Literature, Capital City/Lake Murray Country will create an educationally sound experience that will meet your every need.

The dedicated staff at Capital City/Lake Murray Country is well connected to the sights and experiences that will enhance your curriculum. One call and your students can be a part of a personal learning experience to supplement your classroom through educational touring. Capital City/Lake Murray Country specializes in creating memories of a lifetime for your students. Click here to view our Youth Tour Planner.

Facilities Offering Student/Youth Tours

Adventure Carolina – www.a dventurecarolina.com
Adventure Carolina is a full service outfitter in the Columbia area offering paddling, hiking, climbing, and lessons. They offer a range of guided trips down the Saluda, Edisto, and Congaree rivers as well as trips on Lake Murray and out of the area. All you need is a group of 10 or more folks to have a special canoe trip devoted to just your group. Specialty trips include the Purple Martin Sea Kayak trip on Lake Murray, Women only trips, Rocky Shoals Spider Lily trip and catered canoe trips.
(803) 796-4505

Challenger Learning Center – www.thechallengercenter.com/home.htm
The Challenger Learning Center offers full space missions, tours, summer space camp, and teacher workshops. Using high-technology space flight simulators, individuals have the opportunity to experience space flight and hands-on experiments. While they’re conducting simulated missions, they’re also learning math, science, engineering, communications concepts, teamwork and problem solving skills.
(803) 929-3951

Columbia Museum of Art – www.columbiamuseum.org/education/
The Columbia Museum of Art will transport you and your students into a world of delight and discovery! Changing exhibitions on the first floor will provide context and variety to curriculum-based programs that feature objects from the permanent collection. The Columbia Museum of Art offers programs for K-12, home schoolers, and teachers. Contact the Museum Tour Coordinator to schedule a tour and communicate any special needs your group may have.
(803) 343-2209

Congaree National Park Service – www.nps.gov/cong
The Congaree National Park Service offers hiking, primitive camping, bird watching, picnicking, canoeing and kayaking, Ranger guided interpretive walks, canoe tours, nature study, and environmental education programs.
(803) 776-4396

EdVenture Children’s Museum – www.edventure.org
The nation’s 9^th largest children’s museum is right here in Columbia! Designed for children 12 and younger, this high tech educational facility boasts 450 individual exhibits that help meet South Carolina’s Educational Curriculum.
(803) 779-3100

Frankie’s Fun Park
Drive fast, play hard, and even get a little wet at Frankie’s Fun Park. Enjoy miniature golf, go karts, rookie karts, trampoline thing, batting cages, bumper boats, the rock wall climb, arcade, pizza restaurant and golf driving range.
(803) 781-2342

Harmon’s Tree Farm & Christmas House – www.harmontreefarm.com
Enjoy Southern hospitality at the Harmon farm on 75 acres with a cultivated historical farm with animals, a playground and more. Harmon’s offers Thanksgiving and Christmas season train rides and educational tours, itineraries for school groups, and much more! (803) 359-4454

Historic Columbia Foundation – www.historiccolumbia.org/visit/programs.html
Historic Columbia offers guided tours of four historic house museums and as well as walking and trolley tours throughout the City of Columbia. The tours have been developed for students in K-12 grade and fulfill the South Carolina State Education Standards. The Specialty Educational Tours offered are a Main Street Tour, an African American Heritage Sites Tour and a History Tour, examining the architectural styles that exist in Columbia.

Nature Learning Company – www.naturelearning.com/about.htm
The Nature Learning Company’s purpose is to teach people about nature. The company offers nature related birthday parties, programming for childcare centers and other organizations and training for Caregivers and Directors of Child Care Centers. In addition, the Nature Learning Company offers Science Explorers, a weekly program featuring outdoor safety, environmental education, nature crafts, nature journaling, storytelling and other learning activities.
(803) 736-9662

Palmetto Paddlers – www.palmettopaddlers.trupod.com/ (803) 920-3898

River Runner Outdoor Center
(803) 771-0353

Riverbanks Zoo & Garden – www.riverbanks.org/s04education/
Would you like to learn more about the fantastic wildlife at Riverbanks and beyond? The Education Department offers a wide variety of programs for all ages and interests. The Zoo’s Field Trip Planning Center offers a collection of activities, information and suggestions for making your trip to Riverbanks both exciting and educational. Visit the zoo’s website or contact them directly to inquire about all of their educational tours. Riverbanks’ offers tours for every age group. (803) 779-8717 X1113

Home School Mondays are special opportunities offered especially for home school students and groups. Each month features a new schedule of programs and encounters.

Adventure Tours will get you an inside look into the wonderful world of animal care and training. There are several different tours to choose from including touring the elephants and grizzly bears.

Educational Excursions are brand new for school groups. These educational tours of the park are most appropriate for grades 7-12.

The ZooTeens Program is a partnership between Riverbanks Zoo & Garden, the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands and Richland County Recreation Commission. Teens have the ability to explore career opportunities in zoos and aquariums while learning practical animal care and environmental education skills.

Saluda Shoals Park – http://www.icrc.net
The Environmental Education Center at Saluda Shoals Park provides programs for all grade levels. The programs offered cover Life Science, Physical Science and Earth Science. Programs are inquiry based and are developed to address or meet the South Carolina Education Science Standards.
(803) 731-5208

SC State Museum – www.museum.state.sc.us/education/teachersInfo.html
The State Museum packs a lot of educational programming into four large floors in its beautiful, historic building. Programs are coordinated with the state curriculum standards and are also available in three other areas at the museum. NatureSpace offers interactive natural history lessons for students in K4 through 6^th grade. The Science Theatre offers exciting science programs for students in K4 through 12^th grade. Check out the many programs available. Order fun, educational student bags and delicious box lunches from the Cotton Mill Exchange before your visit.

SC State Museum Future Expansion – www.museum.state.sc.us/main/future.html
A multi-dimensional facility for science education and public cultural enrichment is planned to open at the SC State Museum this year. An observatory, planetarium and large-format theater are all a part of the expansion. This will be an outstanding educational and cultural resource for the state and for tourists.

Southern Patriot Curriculum Cruises – http://www.lakemurraytours.com
These cruises have been designed for children in grades 3^rd through middle school. Lake Murray offers an opportunity to bring the classroom into a beautiful environment, which is surrounded with rich history and many learning opportunities.

South Carolina State House
Free tours are available at the South Carolina State House, the seat of South Carolina’s legislative and executive branches of government. Tours are available: Monday-Friday 9-5pm; Saturday 10-5pm and the 1^st Sunday of the month, 1-5pm.

Capital City/Lake Murray Country Visitors Center
The Capital City/Lake Murray Country Visitors Center is the perfect place for your groups to receive a warm, southern hospitality greeting. Stop by the Visitor’s Center on your way to another attraction and enjoy refreshments at the 1840’s plantation home. A member of the staff will give the history of the house, as well as the history of the region.
1-866-SC-JEWEL

Facilities Especially For Teachers:

South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Museum – www.state.sc.us/crr/tmo.htm
The SC Confederate Relic Room & Museum offers a program called Teacher’s Morning Out for Social Studies and History teachers. The purpose of the program is to teach you how you can incorporate museum resources in the classroom. Throughout the day you will hear guest speakers, take an in-depth tour of the museum and learn how other teachers have been able to use these resources in their classrooms.
(803) 737-8097

Additional Resources for Educators:

Time Warner Cable will be partnering with the Columbia Museum of Art to provide additional resources for educators. Time Warner Cable is offering Field Trip Grants for classes typically not afforded the opportunity to visit the Columbia Museum of Art. These grants include transportation costs. The following link will provide more information about this program and how to obtain a grant application.
www.twcsc.com/commreach.htm#ColaMusArt