EdVenture Hartsville preps for grand opening
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
The new EdVenture Children’s Museum Hartsville satellite is putting the last few finishing touches in place before their doors open to the public the weekend of June 30.
Located on West Carolina Avenue in downtown Hartsville, the new facility is sure to capture imaginations inside and catch your attention outside.
“You can’t miss it – it’s a teal and purple building, so you’ll be able to see it from a distance,” says Karen Coltrane, president and CEO of EdVenture.
The EdVenture Children’s Museum in Columbia is famed for promoting an immersive and entertaining approach to learning, offering multiple exhibits, games, and attractions that teach kids about science, reading, and numbers as they play. The Hartsville satellite will continue this tradition, and will include some unique features with local flavor.
“Duke Energy has funded an exhibit and it’s the only one of its kind. We call it the Power Tower. Kids will be able to work at five different stations and generate kinetic power themselves by jumping up and down, or rowing, or bicycling. The power they generate will light up the lights on the tower, and when everybody works together the whole tower will light up,” says Coltrane.
The museum will also feature a Town Square area styled after downtown Hartsville with a Markette store, a Sonoco art and recycling ‘maker space,’ and a real ambulance for the hospital set.
Coltrane adds that there will be a very special carousel at EdVenture: themed after characters and creatures from the stories of science fiction pioneer Jules Verne, this kid-sized ride is made by a French company which has been crafting custom carousels for over a century.
“The carousel is the only one of its kind in North America,” notes Coltrane.
EdVenture will also have a classroom area for presentations and special programs. While many of the exhibits are science-themed, the museum is a full-fledged early childhood learning center, which will focus on developing literacy and learning ability in a multi-disciplinary way.
“The best early childhood programs are multi-disciplinary because everything integrates together educationally when you’re young,” says Coltrane.
For toddlers and kids who might be a little bit too young to properly enjoy the museum, there will be a ‘crawler area’ in the front of the building where parents can hang with the tiny tots while still keeping an eye on their older children as they explore and play at the exhibits.
Admission to EdVenture Hartsville will be $8 per person. For those on WIC, SNAP, and Medicaid, discounted admissions of $2 are available. Coltrane says the museum encourages families to invest in an annual membership (on sale now for $89, normally $129), which would allow you to visit the museum as often as you like.
EdVenture will be available to host birthday parties and celebrations, and the whole facility can be rented out for special occasions.
Coltrane says that once the museum is up and running, EdVenture will establish community involvement and outreach programs to help fulfill its mission of promoting education and learning.
“We’re not just bringing a museum, we’re bringing everything that EdVenture does in the community. We want to start after school programs, and we’re talking to the schools about that. We do grant-funded programs, too, so you don’t get just one thing with EdVenture. We’re bringing everything,” says Coltrane.
Open from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. virtually year round (360 days a year), the EdVenture Children’s Museum Hartsville satellite is scheduled to open to the public on the weekend of June 30. They are located at 146 West Carolina Avenue. To learn more, visit them online at www.edventure.org
