Childrens Museum of the Upstate Inc

At The Children’s Museum of the Upstate (TCMU), play is more than fun—it’s a powerful tool for learning. Since opening our doors in 2009, TCMU has helped children across the Upstate build the skills they need to succeed in school and in life. Through interactive exhibits, engaging programs, and hands-on outreach, we support every child in developing their curiosity, creativity, and confidence—the building blocks of lifelong success.

Research shows that children who experience high-quality, play-based education are 60% more likely to perform at grade level. At The Children's Museum of the Upstate, children aren’t just playing—they’re strengthening skills in collaboration, communication, content knowledge, critical thinking, creative innovation, and confidence. These “6Cs” are hard to teach in a classroom but come naturally through play.

As the nation’s seventh-largest children’s museum, our downtown Greenville location offers more than 80,000 square feet of play-based learning where STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) takes center stage. From racing cars in Wheels on the Ground to exploring giant organs in Your Healthy Body, children and families discover the sciences, arts, health, and environment in ways that stick. In Spartanburg, our 10,600-square-foot museum focuses on the earliest learners—birth through age six—helping children and their caregivers prepare for kindergarten through developmentally focused exhibits and programs.

Every week, families enjoy programming such as Exploration Station, Healthy Hustle, Open Art Studios, steamWORKS, Story Time & More, and TCMU Tots. And through our outreach programs, TCMU brings this same high-quality early learning directly into schools and community centers across nine Upstate counties—reaching children who otherwise might never step foot inside a museum.

Equity is at the heart of our mission. Through our Breaking Barriers initiative, we provide free and reduced-cost access so that financial obstacles never prevent a child from learning, exploring, and thriving.

With your support today, TCMU will continue to spark imagination, inspire learning, and expand opportunity for every child across the Upstate—because every child deserves the lifelong advantage of play.