$ DISCOVER CHEAP US FREE & CHEAP TRAVEL
Home › Homeschool › South Carolina

Homeschool Discounts in South Carolina

Big-ticket South Carolina museums, naval landmarks, and nature preserves with homeschool discount days — typically 30–50% off for kids, sometimes free.

Updated May 2026 · 7 confirmed programs · 1 call-to-confirm

South Carolina has one of the highest per-capita homeschool participation rates in the Southeast, and the state's marquee venues have built dedicated programming around it. The flagship is Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant — the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier runs $10-per-student Homeschool Days the second Tuesday of every month, with admission to roam the carrier afterward included. The Coastal Discovery Museum on Hilton Head Island layers themed sessions (Seashell Exploration, Native American History) onto its free 68-acre Honey Horn campus for $10 per student plus $2 per adult. The South Carolina Botanical Garden at Clemson runs nature-themed Homeschool Days the last Wednesday of every month at $5 per participant — pollinators in April, water cycle in May, animal habitats in winter.

The Charleston Museum (founded 1773, the oldest museum in the United States) runs Homeschool History Day twice monthly September through May at $5–$10 per student. The Upcountry History Museum in Greenville runs fourth-Friday Homeschool Days tied to its rotating exhibitions at $11/student and $14/adult. The South Carolina State Museum in Columbia waives general admission entirely for homeschool groups visiting with a designated teacher (any operating day, with proof of homeschool registration) — the budget headline of the bunch.

Confirmed homeschool pricing

Published price on the venue's own homeschool page — most under $20 per child.

Recurring
2nd Tuesday monthly
10am – noon program, then roam until 6:30pm close
$10
per kid

Patriots Point Homeschool Days

Mount Pleasant · K–12 · Register online at patriotspoint.org/events

Patriots Point's flagship Homeschool Days run the second Tuesday of every month from 10am to noon aboard the USS Yorktown — a 90-minute standards-based program combining the carrier's WWII history, Medal of Honor Museum content, and Charleston Harbor estuarine ecology. After the program, families have the rest of the day to explore the carrier, the USS Laffey destroyer, and the USS Clamagore submarine on their own.

Regular admission: ~$26 adult / ~$18 youth — ~45% off the regular youth admission, plus a 90-minute instructor-led standards-based program
Homeschool page at patriotspoint.org →
Recurring
Themed sessions throughout the year
Check coastaldiscovery.org for current dates
$10
per kid · adult $2

Coastal Discovery Museum Homeschool Days

Hilton Head Island · Ages 5+ · Register online at coastaldiscovery.org/homeschool-days — sessions cap at moderate sizes, book early

The Coastal Discovery Museum's 68-acre Honey Horn campus runs themed homeschool sessions blending Lowcountry nature, history, and culture. Recent offerings include Seashell Exploration (shoreline walking, marine biology) for ages 8+ and Native American History (artifact handling, pinch-pot pottery making with clay). Programs are tailored to age groups and run at $10/student + $2/adult — modest pricing for a Smithsonian-affiliate venue.

Regular admission: Free general admission (suggested $5 donation) — Programmed homeschool day on top of free general museum access
Homeschool page at coastaldiscovery.org →
Recurring
Last Wednesday monthly
1:00 – 2:30pm, themed monthly topics
$5
per kid

South Carolina Botanical Garden Homeschool Days

Clemson · 5+ · Email allisoo@clemson.edu or register at the SCBG events page — register 2 days ahead

The South Carolina Botanical Garden — Clemson University's free 295-acre garden — runs nature-themed Homeschool Days the last Wednesday of every month at 1pm. Recent topics include Animals in Winter, Habitats and Food Chains, Plant Parts and Photosynthesis, Flowers and Pollinators, and the Water Cycle. Classes are held in the Conference Center lower level, and families have the rest of the afternoon to explore the garden's 4 miles of trails.

Regular admission: Free (the garden itself is always free, dawn to dusk) — A guided themed nature session on top of a free-anyway garden
Homeschool page at calendar.clemson.edu →
Recurring
Monthly September – May
Two sessions per program day: 10–11am and 11:30am–12:30pm
$10
per kid · adult $15

Charleston Museum Homeschool History Day

Charleston · Elementary – Middle (topic adjusts monthly) · Reservations required — email ereagan@charlestonmuseum.org or call 843-722-2996 ext. 236

Founded in 1773, the Charleston Museum bills itself as America's oldest museum. Its Homeschool History Day program runs monthly September through May, with two sessions on each program day exploring a fresh topic — Lowcountry adaptation, Charleston silver, early American life, the city's Revolutionary War role. Each session bundles a guided tour or class, a hands-on activity, and the rest of the museum.

Regular admission: $15 adult / $12 ages 13–17 / $6 ages 3–12 — Member students $5 (a steep discount); program adds a class and tour on top of regular museum access
Homeschool page at charlestonmuseum.org →
Year-round
Free year-round for homeschool groups + 1 designated teacher
Plus $3/person planetarium and 4D theater add-ons
Free
per kid · adult Free (1 designated teacher per group)

South Carolina State Museum (free for homeschool groups)

Columbia · All grades · No reservation needed — the designated teacher shows their homeschool association registration card and matching photo ID at the front desk on arrival

South Carolina's state museum is a four-story palace of natural history, science, art, and state history with a planetarium and 4D theater. The homeschool admission policy waives the standard $13 adult / $10 child admission entirely for a homeschool group plus one designated teacher (a parent leading their own kids counts), year-round, any operating day. Additional accompanying adults pay regular admission as chaperones. The previously-published dedicated Homeschool Day program was suspended; this standing group-admission policy is the current benefit.

Regular admission: $13 adult / $10 ages 3–12 — 100% off general admission for a homeschool group and its designated teacher year-round (every operating day)
Homeschool page at scmuseum.org →
Recurring
Fourth Friday monthly at 2pm
Tied to rotating museum exhibitions
$11
per kid · adult $14

Upcountry History Museum Homeschool Days

Greenville · Elementary, Middle, and High School (grade bands vary by exhibition) · Buy online at upcountryhistory.org or call 864-467-3100

The Upcountry History Museum's Homeschool Days meet the fourth Friday of each month at 2pm and tie directly to whichever exhibition is currently up — so the program's grade-level focus and content shifts month to month. Each session includes a guided experience in one of the museum's galleries, a hands-on classroom activity, and all-day museum admission. Programs are designed to support South Carolina state social studies standards.

Regular admission: $10 adult / $7 student / Free under 4 — Adds a guided gallery experience and hands-on classroom activity to all-day museum admission
Homeschool page at upcountryhistory.org →
Recurring
Single-day living-history visit
Schedule with the CHM York County education team
$5
per kid · adult $8

Historic Brattonsville Homeschool Field Trip Program

McConnells (12 mi south of Rock Hill) · K-12 · Group reservations required — call 803-684-2327 ext. 1 or email scheduler@chmuseums.org

Historic Brattonsville's 800-acre living-history plantation 12 miles south of Rock Hill — 30+ original colonial and antebellum structures, the Huck's Defeat Revolutionary War battlefield (1780), heritage breed animals, and costumed interpreters bringing 1750s-1850s Carolina backcountry life to life. The group field-trip format welcomes homeschool co-ops as a self-organized group; a single family can join an existing co-op visit.

Regular admission: $8 adults / $7 seniors / $5 ages 4-17 / Free 3 and under — Group field-trip pricing matches the regular admission, but adds reservation-only access to costumed-interpreter programs and the working farm
Homeschool page at chmuseums.org →

Worth calling about

These venues run homeschool programs but don't publish pricing online. Call before you go.

When
Occasional homeschool classes through the year
Call
no public price

Museum of York County

Rock Hill

The Museum of York County's natural history galleries — animal dioramas from every continent, the Charlotte metro's only full-dome digital planetarium, and a Naturalist Center Lab with fossils, rocks, skulls, and animal mounts — host occasional homeschool programming throughout the year. Recent series include multi-part Miocene paleontology classes for ages 7–13. The general museum admission of $5 (free Sundays) is the standing budget option; published homeschool-specific pricing isn't on a fixed calendar.

Regular admission: $5 adult / $3 ages 4–17 / Free Sundays
How to reach them: Culture & Heritage Museums of York County offers occasional homeschool classes (a recent Miocene paleontology series for ages 7–13 is the published example), STEAM workshops at the Settlemyre Planetarium and Naturalist Center Lab, and group programming for 15+. Specific schedule and per-program pricing aren't fixed on a public calendar. Email scheduler@chmuseums.org or call 803-981-9182 for current offerings.
Homeschool page at chmuseums.org →

Plus more free and cheap educational outings in South Carolina

Already on DiscoverCheapUS — free and low-cost South Carolina attractions homeschool families plan whole field-trip days around.

Columbia

5 free or cheap
  • Congaree National ParkFree
  • South Carolina State Museum$13 adults / $11 seniors / $10 kids 3–12 ($1 first Sunday of month)
  • Columbia Museum of Art$15 adults / $13 seniors 65+ / $10 youth 7–18 / free under 6
  • South Carolina State HouseFree
  • Mann-Simons Site$12 adults / $8 youth 6-17 / Free under 6
See all Columbia attractions →

Greenville

2 free or cheap
  • Greenville County Museum of ArtFree
  • Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum & Baseball LibraryFree (donations accepted)
See all Greenville attractions →

Charleston

4 free or cheap
  • Fort Moultrie$10 adults / Free under 16
  • Old Slave Mart Museum$8 adults / $7 ages 7–12, military, seniors / Free under 7
  • Charleston Museum$15 adults / $12 ages 13–17 / $6 ages 3–12 / Free under 3
  • Aiken-Rhett House$16 adults / $7 ages 6–16 / Free under 6
See all Charleston attractions →

Mount Pleasant

2 free or cheap
  • Charles Pinckney National Historic SiteFree
  • Sweetgrass Cultural Arts PavilionFree
See all Mount Pleasant attractions →

Hilton Head Island

3 free or cheap
  • Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey HornFree
  • Historic Mitchelville Freedom ParkFree
  • Fort HowellFree
See all Hilton Head Island attractions →

Clemson

7 free or cheap
  • South Carolina Botanical GardenFree
  • Bob Campbell Geology MuseumFree
  • Hanover House$5 suggested donation / $4 seniors / $2 children
  • Fort Hill (John C. Calhoun House)$5 suggested donation / $4 seniors / $2 children
  • Pendleton Historic DistrictFree
  • Pickens County Museum of Art & HistoryFree
  • Old Stone Church & CemeteryFree
See all Clemson attractions →

Rock Hill

4 free or cheap
  • Catawba Indian Nation Cultural CenterFree
  • Museum of York County & Settlemyre Planetarium$5 adults / $3 ages 4-17 / Free under 4 / Free Sundays
  • Historic Brattonsville$8 adults / $7 seniors / $5 ages 4-17 / Free 3 and under
  • Winthrop University Historic CampusFree to stroll
See all Rock Hill attractions →

See all 75 South Carolina attractions on the directory →