Southeast USA Museums and Culture

The Ava Gardner Museum is an interpretive museum which describes her life, from growing up near Smithfield, NC, to her discovery by Hollywood, her progress as an actress, her loves, her friends and her travels. A film star of Hollywood’s Golden Era, she was acclaimed as the world’s most beautiful woman was sought by both famous photographers and filmmakers to grace their film.
The Ava Gardner Museum is home to an extensive collection of historic documents, scripts, photographs, costumes, clothing and paintings. Each object in the museum was either owned by Ava Gardner or her family, used in her films or had a special meaning or relationship to Ava.

A venue to foster greater understanding, appreciation, enjoyment, and stewardship of the natural and cultural heritage of the lower St. Johns River basin through time.
To achieve this goal, the Mandarin Museum & Historical Society will research topics, collect, preserve, interpret and exhibit documents, objects, and oral histories that relate to the history of Mandarin within the context of regional, Florida, and national history.

At the South Carolina Cotton Museum, we currently offer educational programs that both entertain and inform. Our programs are interactive: the student becomes involved!
Our educational programs are geared to various age levels. Teachers may also select from our library of video presentations to enhance the educational experience. Our younger visitors participate in the "From Seeds to Shirts" program, in which our staff describes how a cotton seed is magically transformed into a t-shirt.

A place where children can explore their world the way they learn best-through creative role-playing, manipulation, and interaction with each other and the objects around them.

Displaying more than 30 authentic Winston Cup race cars, the Winston Cup Museum chronicles RJ Reynolds Tobacco's 33-year sponsorship of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. The museum also displays a extensive variety of racing artifacts.

Dozens of fun, hands-on interactive exhibits based on scientific principles challenge visitors' ideas about science and technology. Interactive exhibits show you how to create clouds, generate electricity with a bike, marvel at optical illusions, and build and control your own robot!
Natural history exhibits feature "Suzie," a 22,000 year-old mastodon found in Palm Beach County. Also, authentic and reproduction skeletons of whales, sharks and dinosaurs bring history to life.
Native and exotic sea life from warm waters around the world populate the museum's aquariums, while an acre of naturally landscaped outdoor trails features over a dozen original interactive exhibits. Exciting laser shows and star shows thrill young and old alike in the Marvin Dekelboum Planetarium.

Located in the historic district of Goldsboro, the Wayne County Museum strives to educate and entertain people of all ages by offering varied and diverse exhibits. The aim of the museum is to collect, preserve, study, and exhibit objects illustrating the history, science and cultural heritage of Wayne County and Central Eastern North Carolina.
The Wayne County Museum was founded in 1986 when the Goldsboro Woman’s Club graciously donated its classical Jeffersonian style building to the Wayne County Historical Association. The building constructed in 1927, and the home of the U.S.O. in the 1940’s, is filled with the rich history of Wayne County. The museum officially opened in 1988 and sponsors several special exhibits each year.

The South Florida Museum, in accordance with its mission, endeavors to be a premier regional museum of natural and cultural history.The Museum's mission to preserve, interpret, and communicate – through collections, exhibitions, and educational programs – scientific and cultural knowledge of Florida, the world, and our universe.

The Columbia Museum of Art seeks to inspire, educate and enrich the lives of the community, South Carolinians, tourists and visitors by collecting and preserving fine and decorative art from around the world, exhibiting highly regarded work from a broad range of cultures and providing dynamic educational and cultural programs.

Located at the corner of Fifth Street and Home Avenue, the Hartsville Museum and the Sculpture Courtyard anchor the cultural plaza in downtown Hartsville, SC. The museum, founded in 1980, is a local history museum. Housed in a 1930’s Post Office Building, the museum has kept many of the unique architectural features of the building. The skylight, original to the building, has been retrofitted with stained glass panels depicting the flora and fauna significant to the area. The Sculpture Courtyard added in 2000 features many different types of sculpture. The Showcase Gallery presents special exhibits focusing on history, the arts or present day events.

The Jacksonville Fire Museum serves as an educational Link between the past and the present. Through the years, thousands of school children have toured the museum, learning about fire safety and the rich history of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department.
At the Jacksonville Fire Museum , you will see more than 500 items detailing the history of the fire service not only in Jacksonville, but the entire state of Florida. Some of the artifacts are on loan from private individuals while other artifacts are property of the Jacksonville Fire Museum .

The Museum has four large floors devoted to the disciplines of art, history, natural history and science/technology. It houses both long-term exhibits and five changing exhibit galleries. On Oct. 29, 1988, the South Carolina State Museum opened its doors, bringing to the citizens of the Palmetto State the newest, and one of the finest, state museums in America. Since that day it has awed, delighted and enlightened millions of visitors. The State Museum has more than 70,000 artifacts in its collection, and it is still a very young institution. The State Museum has been voted Best Museum in the Midlands five years in a row by Columbia Metropolitan magazine, and was designated Best Museum of 2007 by the readers of the Free Times newspaper.

The beginnings of the Tennessee State Museum can be traced back to a museum opened on the Nashville public square in 1817 by a portrait artist, Ralph E.W. Earl. A young boy who visited that museum in 1823 wrote home that he had seen a life-size painting of then General Andrew Jackson. That same painting hangs today in the State Museum, now located at the corner of Fifth and Deaderick streets.
In 1937 the General Assembly created a state museum to house World War I mementoes and other collections from the state, the Tennessee Historical Society and other groups. This museum was located in the lower level of the War Memorial Building until it was moved into the new James K. Polk Center in 1981. The Tennessee State Museum currently occupies three floors, covering approximately 120,000 square feet with more than 60,000 square feet devoted to exhibits.

The museum is an important component of The University of Tennessee, and participates in the implementation of the University's mission. The University of Tennessee is committed to the development of individuals and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit. This is to be accomplished through teaching, scholarship, artistic creation, public service, and professional practice.
The complementary mission of the Frank H. McClung Museum is to advance understanding and appreciation of the earth and its peoples through the collection, preservation, study, interpretation, and exhibition of objects and data. The Museum is dedicated to the support of the academic programs of The University and to the attraction and education of the broadest spectrum of participants.

Only at Fernbank Museum can you come face-to-face with the world’s largest dinosaurs, explore the development of life on Earth through the landscapes of present-day Georgia, connect with cultures from around the globe, engage in a variety of hands-on exhibitions and more! And you won’t want to miss stunning rotating special exhibitions or the incredible 5-story experience of an IMAX® film.

From a stately home on Peachtree Street to its current award-winning buildings in a spectacular setting, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta has grown to become the leading art museum in the Southeastern United States with its renowned collection of classic and contemporary art and renowned architecture by Richard Meier and Renzo Piano.

The science portion of the museum has fourteen different collections in Archaeology, Arthropod, Botany Herbarium, Economic Geology, Herpetology, Ichthyology, Invertebrate, Mammalogy, Mycological Herbarium, Ornithology, Paleontology, Pollen and Plant Microspore, Rocks and Minerals, and Zooarchaeology as well as more than 325,000 alcohol-preserved fish specimens. In addition, there are exhibits, archives, and entertainment for children.[4] Its more than four million objects makes it one of the largest museums in the Southeast. Source

"The NEW World of Coca­Cola is the only place where visitors can explore the complete story—past, present and future—of the world's best-known brand! For over 120 years, we've been putting our secret formula into bottles. Now, we've put it all in one amazing place—the NEW World of Coca­Cola.
With 62,000 square feet of guest areas, the NEW World of Coca­Cola is approximately twice the size of the previous World of Coca­Cola.
We will feature more than 1,200 artifacts from around the world that have never been displayed to the public before. In fact, only about 50 artifacts from the previous World of Coca­Cola will be showcased at the NEW World of Coca­Cola.
A visit of the entire facility lasts an average of 90 minutes."

In 2002, Jeff and Susan Lane established Lane Motor Museum. Jeff has been an automotive enthusiast since an early age. He began restoring his first car—a 1955 MG TF—when he was a teen. His personal collection was the donation that began the foundation. Lane Motor Museum unveiled its collection to the public in October of 2003. As director, Jeff Lane continues to search out cars for the collection that are technically significant or uniquely different. The goal of Lane Motor Museum is to share in the mission of collection and preserving automotive history for future generations.
The Museum is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

Creative Discovery Museum is recognized as one of the premier hands-on children's museums in the region. Gather the young and young-at-heart and make plans now to visit us at Creative Discovery Museum. Whether it's for a couple of hours or a whole day, time spent at the Museum is sure to be worthwhile learning for the whole family.