Coastal Discovery Museum

While the museum is a bit small with limited but interesting reading, the extra charge bus trip around HHead's black heritage sites was truly enlightening. Ante-bellum and reconstruction came alive with a first-hand narrative by a native descendant of former slaves. What happened there should be more widely known.

We did the Under the Sea class. There were 4 adults and 2 kids ages 11 and 13. Everyone seemed to be engaged during the half hour class. They had us at two tables with a bin of water in front of us. Through the class the instructor put different little sea creatures in the water for us to look at and touch. They were a mussel, hermit crab, spider crab and horseshoe crab. She talked about each one, we could ask questions. The only thing I would say we were a little disappointed with was that in the description of the class it talked feeding a horseshoe crab but we never did that. We also walked around the museum and the property a bit. It's a nice place. Friendly staff. Museum is free but the classes you need to sign up for and they cost a fee.

We took this boat trip yesterday, and it was excellent. We know seeing dolphins is hit or miss, but the boat captain led us to an area where we must have seen a total of 20 dolphins in the 90 minutes. And once finding them, he lingered and circled to maximize the experience. We have also been to several afternoon talks at the Coastal Discovery Museums, and all were excellent. They bring in experts, give a great presentation, and answer any and all questions. You can't go wrong if you enjoy this type of nature activity in booking with the Coastal Discovery Museum.

I actually love the Coastal Discovery Museum, but the Blue Crab Discovery was a complete waste of money. Two years ago, my family and I participated in the Blue Crab Discovery and loved it. We took a complete tour of the grounds, learned a great deal about blue crabs and other indigenous creatures, and were each treated to our own individual whole crab (freshly caught and prepared during the tour). I expected the same experience this time, but unfortunately, it was terrible. Our tour guide was very nice, but we only went to one dock and did not tour the grounds. Although several nets were cast, only one crab was captured. There were nine people in our group and we had to share one crab! It did not look as if any bait had been left in the traps. Yes, I realize that there is no way to set the number of crabs captured, but it would have been nice if they had fresh crabs for everyone. These could have been purchased or captured earlier on the grounds. Our tour was supposed to last 1.5 hours, but ended in about 45 minutes. It was a complete waste of money!!! I do recommend visiting the Coastal Discovery Museum and attending their other programs, but do not waste your time and money on the Blue Crab Discovery.

Tour guide skipped over whole rooms and displays, but instead spent a very long time talking about the philanthropists and the family that used to live there. Got upset with me for whispering something to my husband (we were in the back and were walking to a different room at the time, so I really don’t think I interrupted). She asked me if ‘there was somewhere else that I needed to be’. Then she asked if anyone else had ‘issues’ and got mad that my son had to use the restroom.
She made people look ignorant for asking questions she thought were dumb.

Doris Niles and her partner, ___ Austin, were perfect exemplars of the steady, calm, supportive Lowcountry demeanor as they reassured us uncertain craftspeople that our efforts would turn out fine and there was no such thing as a mistake in weaving a sweetgrass basket. We did come to appreciate the skills and patience required to create a basket - and the time necessary for a large basket. Ours were very small but attractive and after several hours we were happy that we managed to get that tiny circle to look like a basket at all - some made coasters. It was a great experience. finding that we were working with Doris, who has a basket selected for inclusion in the Smithsonian's collection was very impressive indeed!

We eat lunch under the huge magnolias as 3 generations enjoy the day. We make use of each active and space, and my son finds new interests each time he visits. Membership helps the museum so consider purchasing one. Booking your water tours through the museum helps them and local guides. When you arrive and depart the island make sure to say "Hello Myrtle or See you next time Myrtle." One museum visit will introduce you to Myrtle.

We visited the museum in September the day they have the farmers market. Nice to stroll through and see the crafts and food items. The museum is small but nice focusing on the coastal habitat and culture. The grounds are very nice to walk with boardwalks into the marsh and butterflies, birds galore.

Wife and I have gone to HHI for 20 years. First few years we didn't see it. After going once, we never miss it during our trips.

Open to the public with free parking and no entrance fee, this place is a convenient stop on your route if you want to learn more about the history of Hilton Head Island. Allow 1-2 hours. The main house is a museum with many artifacts and displays. There are several walking trails so you can explore the site at your leisure. The main house houses the museums and has restrooms, souvenirs and limited food and drinks. Seasonal activities can be found on their website.

Gail,the tour guide made this informative and interesting tour 5 stars. If you enjoy Civil War history and learning about the people that lived in Hilton Head during this era,this is a great nearly 2 hour tour. Gail has thoroughly researched the various topics and people and had extensive notes along with pictures.Stops included the site of a pneumatic gun and sites of Forts Sherman and Walker. We rode in Gail’s car as we were the only couple on the tour. Gail had on a face shield and we were masked.We felt very safe. Gail also should open a bakery as she gave us samples of cookies she made from Civil War era recipes. The applesauce and ginger cookies were fabulous. Gail also gave us a list of other historical things to visit on the island. So glad we did this tour with Gail.