South Carolina Aquarium
$25–$50Walk from mountain streams to the open ocean through South Carolina habitats, then touch rays and watch sea turtles in recovery.
Transit: reachable by public transit

Photo: ProfReader, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
National Park Service exhibit at Liberty Square explaining the road to the first Civil War shots.
1214 Middle Street, Sullivan's Island, SC 29482 · Sullivan's Island, SC
The Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center, run as part of Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park, presents an exhibit on the long buildup to the Civil War. The exhibit traces how decades of regional tension over property, rights, and slavery pushed the nation toward conflict. It explains why South Carolina seceded first and how the first shots fired in Charleston Harbor drew a federal response. Visitors are directed to the exhibit text at Liberty Square for fuller detail on those events.
The closest stops to Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
Walk from mountain streams to the open ocean through South Carolina habitats, then touch rays and watch sea turtles in recovery.
Transit: reachable by public transit
Right next doorSwitch it up: Attractions
Explore African American history on Gadsden's Wharf, where a large share of enslaved Africans arrived in North America.
Transit: reachable by public transit
Steps awayMore like this
South Carolina's Lowcountry history museum, founded in 1773 and billed as the nation's first museum.
0.6 mi awayMore like this
Browse four blocks of open-air sheds and the Great Hall for sweetgrass baskets, local crafts and souvenirs.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.8 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping
See American art tied to Charleston and the South inside a 1905 Beaux Arts gallery on Meeting Street in the historic district.
0.9 mi awayMore like this
Walk or bike Wonders' Way across a cable-stayed bridge with two 575-foot diamond towers and wide views of Charleston Harbor.
1.0 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing