History Exhibits
The following art exhibits are available through the Traveling Exhibits Program. For more information, call 803.737.4159 or email tep@scmuseum.org
The Great Charleston Earthquake, 1886
This exhibit examines the most destructive earthquake ever recorded in the eastern United States. The quake occurred near Charleston, SC on August 31, 1886. Discover details about the devastation and how rescue efforts were deployed during the 1800’s. The exhibit also teaches how to protect yourself today should an earthquake occur.
The Great Charleston Earthquake, 1886 was developed by the South Carolina State Museum with research, collaboration and assistance from Susan Millar Williams and Stephen G. Hoffius, authors of “Upheaval in Charleston: Earthquake and Murder on the Eve of Jim Crow” (University of Georgia Press, 2011) and the Emergency Management Division of South Carolina.
The exhibit comes with a tour that is aligned with S.C. education standards for those venues wishing to attract school groups and also includes materials for an entertaining tent building project to be used during family or school programs.
A DVD is included that includes additional information on the history of the quake and about the geological make up of South Carolina and why the state is prone to so many earthquakes.
Specs:
• 15 metal framed exhibit panels 31X 37
• 1 canvas depiction of St. Philip’s Church 114’ x 85”
• 1 education package for tent building project
• DVD featuring interviews with book authors and local experts on geology and history.
• Digital press package with photos
Cost:
• $300 for one month rental
• $450 for two month rental
• $600 for three month rental
Security: Medium
Transportation: Van with seats removed
Mud, Sweat and Cheers: Football in the Palmetto State
Bring the excitement, drama, history and fun of American football into your gallery. The exhibit includes information about both high school and college football and features Carolina players who have gone on to the professional game. “This exhibit examines the history of the game in the Palmetto State,” says Fritz Hamer, chief curator of history at the South Carolina State Museum. “It looks at how the rules have changed over the 20th century and examines how football expanded from being largely a collegiate sport in the first half of the century into the huge spectator sport it has become since the 1960’s.”
Specs:
• Approximately 100 linear feet
• 12 text panels describing the game 36” x 48”
• 20 college panels 24” x 32”
• 13 biography panels of players and coaches 24” x 32”
• 11 photo panels of various sizes
Cost:
• $300 for one month rental
• $450 for two months rental
• $600 for three months rental
Security: medium
Transportation requirements: van
The Life and Times of Congressman Robert Smalls
Robert Smalls was born an enslaved person on April 5, 1839, in a small cottage in Beaufort, SC. By the time he died in 1915, Smalls had served five terms in the United States Congress. Visitors to this exhibit will learn about his heroic exploits during the Civil War and be inspired by his legacy of bravery, leadership and public service to all Americans. The Life and Times of Congressman Robert Smalls is ideal for institutions interested in telling the story of African Americans and the Civil War as the sesquicentennial approaches.
The exhibit which is scheduled to tour nationally includes visual displays, three dimensional artifacts such as furniture from the Robert Smalls house in Beaufort, pictures and other memorabilia of Congressman Smalls, his family and his life. Also included is a digital photo frame with pictures from the 2004 christening and the 2007 commissioning of the LSV-8 MG Robert Smalls, the largest army transport ship of its kind. The MG Robert Smalls is named for Congressman Smalls who was also commissioned as a Major General in the South Carolina Militia. The Collection has been granted a license to concurrently show Part IV of "Slavery and The Making of America" which depicts the story of Robert Smalls' life from slavery to Congress.
Specs:
• 31 framed and matted reproductions of photographs, legislation and period documents
• 2 ship models in oak cases
• 4 pieces of original furniture
• Replicas of 1861 Tower musket, walking stick and slave tags
• Memorabilia from the christening of the LSV-8 MG Robert Smalls
• Binder containing replicas of Robert Smalls’ correspondence
• Memorabilia from schools named after Robert Smalls
• 12 exhibit panels with text and graphics
• Space Requirements: 1000 - 1200 square feet
Cost: $5000 for 12-week booking period plus shipping
Security: high
Transportation requirements: preferred shipper available
Camera Man's Journey: Julian Dimock's South
These historic photographs were taken in and around Columbia, Beaufort, and Hilton Head between 1904 and 1905 by noted photographer Julian Dimock. Dimock's large format images show men, women, families and a significant number of children engaged in everyday life - at work, at home and at play. They document the clothing, tools, toys as well as the landscape and architecture of the period. These pictures are a valuable resource for learning about life for African-Americans at the turn-of-the-twentieth-century.
Specs: • 36 wood framed images 26” x 32”
• Approximately 110 linear feet
Cost:
• $300 for one month rental
• $450 for two months rental
• $600 for three months rental
Security: medium
Transportation Requirements: Van
521 All-Stars: A Championship Story of Baseball and Community
Based on the 1998 book
The 521 All-Stars: A Championship Story of Baseball and Community, this exhibit depicts the game in its purest form: scrap metal base lines, rotten wood bleachers, teams made up of brothers, fathers and sons, and most importantly, fellowship within the community.
Until Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, major league baseball was the pastime for white players and fans. Segregated and separated, black players were forced to form leagues of their own.
In 1996, author Frye Gaillard was driving north on Route 521 in Sumter County when he discovered a homemade ballpark and stopped to take pictures of the players. He and his partner, photographer Byron Baldwin, spent the next season and a half watching and studying the Gamecock baseball league of Rembert, S.C. The teams are comprised only of African-Americans.
Specs:
• 6 metal framed photographs 18.5” x 37.5”
• 33 metal framed photographs 24.5” x 20.5”
• 3 metal framed photographs 16” x 20.5”
• 2 text panels
• 1 metal 521 road sign
• Space Requirements: 100 linear feet
Cost:
• $300 for one month rental
• $450 for two month rental
• $600 for three month rental
Security: low
Transportation requirements: Cargo van with no seats
Chapters in South Carolina History: Colonial Life
Experience colonial life in the South through this insightful exhibit. See how lives were impacted and how South Carolina was forever changed after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Specs: 31 exhibit panels 28" x 32"
Cost
• $300 for one month rental
• $450 for two month rental
• $600for three month rental
Security: Moderate
Transportation requirements: Van with no seats
The First South Carolinians
The Life and Times of the First Cultures in the Palmetto State
During the Ice Age water frozen in glaciers lowered sea levels and exposed land. Anthropologists and archaeologists believe that a land bridge emerged connecting Russia and Alaska between 14,000 and 12,000 years ago. The earliest people, PaleoIndians, crossed it to North America following game and exploring land. Within 1,000 years of their immigration, what is now South Carolina had its earliest residents.
Specs: 27 exhibit 28” x 32” panels and 8 objects
Cost:
• $300 for one month rental
• $450 for two month rental
• $600 for three month rental
Security: Moderate
Transportation Requirements: Cargo van
The Forgotten War
The Palmetto Regiment and the Mexican War, 1846-1917
In 1846 the United States declared war on Mexico, and President James K. Polk’s administration called for volunteers. South Carolina contributed 10 companies, the Palmetto Regiment. After two years of long marches, disease and battles interspersed with long periods of boredom, the Palmetto Regiment returned home, reduced in numbers but welcomed as heroes.
Specs: 21 exhibit panels (sizes range from 42” x 30” to 17” x 30)
Cost:
• $275 for one month rental
• $400 for two month rental
• $500 for three month rental
Security: Moderate
Transportation Requirements: Van with no seats