Myrtle Beach day trip: fast facts
ADDRESS: 4975 Centre Pointe Drive, North Charleston
ADMISSION: $6 for adults, kids 12 and under are free!
DRIVE TIME: 2 hours from central MB
PAIR IT WITH: Recs at bottom of article
HOURS: Monday–Saturday, 10am – 4pm. Note the last entry of the day is at 3pm.
BEST FOR: All ages will enjoy this!
SUMMARY: It’s a fairly small museum and we spent about an hour here. Great price and kids loved it!
highlights of the museum
1. IT’S BEAUTIFUL INSIDE AND OUT. This is a really nice, clean, and updated facility. It keeps the look of a fire house from the outside with large wooden garage style doors. The inside of the museum is equally nice. The displays are well organized and there is plenty of space for kids to roam with pretty good visibility to most areas.
2. THE FIRE TRUCK SIMULATOR. This will be the highlight for kids (and maybe adults). As soon as you walk in there is a large fire truck simulator. You can climb in, receive an emergency call, crank it up and drive to the scene!
It’s just hard to figure out when it’s your turn. It isn’t monitored by a staff person so it’s first-come, first-served. There isn’t a good place to form a line and kids don’t want to stand still with so much to explore anyway! And there is no good way to tell when it’s empty unless you watch the screens very closely or open the doors to check.
I’d recommend walking around a little bit while keeping an eye on who is going in and coming out and popping over when it looks less busy.
3. THE INDOOR FIRE STATION PLAY CENTER. My kids got into this quick. After we toured some they were ready to run and climb and slide their way to a catastrophic emergency fire.
4. EDUCATIONAL AND INTERACTIVE DISPLAYS. The museum makes all this history and fire safety information exciting and interactive. There are screens where kids can touch parts of the fire engine to learn more about it’s function. There is fireman’s gear and a challenge to see how much of it you can lift. There are hoses with different levels of water pressure to see if you can push against it. And a model house with video showing the most common ways a fire begins.
5. PRINT OFF A PERSONALIZED BADGE & RECEIVE A FIRE HAT. On the way out kids will get a bright red plastic fireman’s hat. These were a hit for days after our visit. And you can personalize a sticker badge for your kids too!
6. THE SHORT EDUCATIONAL FILM. We did this on our most recent visit and it was really fun. It’s kinda like a 3-D thing because it includes smoke, mist, and surround sound. It has a warning for kids who might get frightened easily and I agree– if loud noises are a concern then maybe avoid it. But if your kid can tolerate that then def worth the 10 minutes to sit through!
what else to do in charleston
Best Things to do in Mt Pleasant
Charles Towne Historic Landing (bring your SC State Park Pass for free entry)
Boone Hall Plantation with Kids
EAT OPTIONS: We usually eat in Mt Pleasant because we grab food coming in or just before heading out & parking is always easier! White Duck Taco, Home Team BBQ, Five Loaves Cafe, Cava, Annie’s Hot Donuts, Square Onion are some favs and all kid-friendly.