Celebrate with mom at SC State Museum

Give Mom the world for Mother’s Day.

Or at least the state.

The South Carolina State Museum offers free general admission to mothers today to celebrate their special day.

“You get to explore all of South Carolina under one roof,” says Jared Glover, public relations manager for the museum.

Here are some dos and don’ts if you take your mom to the museum today.

Do: Take Mom to see the Julius Caesar: Roman Military Might and Machines exhibit. It brings to life one of the most technologically significant times in history by showcasing more than 30 intricately designed and functional inventions from the height of the Roman Empire, including war machines, transportation machines, Roman arches, gladiator replicas, hands-on activities, computer animations and more.

Don't: Get into a gladiator fight with your brother or sister.

Do: Browse through Time and Place: the Artwork of James Fowler Cooper. It’s an exhibit that tells the story of the Lowcountry through the eyes of Cooper (1907-1968), a self-taught printmaker who grew up on a farm in Williamsburg and chronicled the people and places near his hometown through his work.

Don’t: Keep asking when you get to see the dinosaurs.

Do: Take mom to the natural history collection, which documents the history of life in South Carolina. Yes, the dinosaurs. This includes arthropods that are more than 500 million years old, 70-million-year-old dinosaur bones, 40-million-year-old whales, 400,000-year-old bones from the Ice Age, and a host of taxidermy mounts of animals that currently inhabit the state.

Don’t: Ask Mom if she remembers arthropods, dinosaurs, or the ice age.

Do: Take Mom to see the history collection, which includes more than 45,000 objects and images related to the history of South Carolina. These artifacts represent the state’s rich past dating back 14,000 years to early Native American cultures through colonial settlement, the American Revolutionary War, the Civil War and into the 20th century.

Don’t: See above.

Do: Take mom shopping in the gift shop after,

Don’t: Try to convince her she wants the toy you have your eye on.

The museum is open noon-5 p.m. and is located at 301 Gervais St. Adult tickets begin at $8.95, children $6.95 and senior citizens $7.95. Kids under 2 are free.

Lezlie Patterson