Riverbanks Zoo and Garden
in Columbia Top SC Attraction for 2010-2011

For the eighth consecutive year, the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden sits at the top of South Carolina’s biggest field trip attractions, according to the annual survey conducted by Carolina Field Trips Magazine. Even with field trip attendance numbers down slightly from last year, the popular Columbia based zoo was still South Carolina’s top student attraction with 114,652 students.

The Roper Mountain Science Center in Greenville was closely behind the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden this year with 111,202 students visiting during the 2010-2011 school calendar year. Rounding out the top five attractions in the survey were the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center and Dupont Planetarium in Aiken along with  EdVenture Children’s Museum and the South Carolina State Museum both based in Columbia. Six of the top 20 field trip attractions in the survey are located in Columbia.

“Riverbanks Zoo and Garden continues to lead as South Carolina’s largest tourist attraction welcoming more than one million visitors during the last fiscal year despite the tough economy,” said Director of Marketing Tommy Stringfellow. “While the zoo’s total field trip attendance declined largely due to higher gas prices and school budget cuts, we are still very pleased to have 114,000 plus students visit us last year. Overall, Riverbanks is still celebrating another banner year.”

Other key field trip attractions ranked in the top ten include the South Carolina State House also based in Columbia, the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston, the Greenville Zoo in Greenville, the Cultural and Heritage Museums of York County (Historic Brattonsville, Museum of York County, McCelvey Center) and Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum located in Mount Pleasant.

Being centrally located in the state of South Carolina lends well to the Columbia region being a sought out and popular destination for school field trips,” said Ric Luber, the president and CEO of the Columbia Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The variety of attractions including art, history and wildlife offer unmatched educational experiences that are affordable, interactive and, more importantly, fun.

Top 20 in South Carolina

1. Riverbanks Zoo and Garden
   Columbia, SC                 803-779-8717    www.riverbanks.org    114,652
2. Roper Mountain Science Center
   Greenville, SC                864-355-8900    www.ropermountain.org    111,202
3. Ruth Patrick Science Education Center/ Dupont Planetarium
   Aiken, SC                  803-641-3313    www.rpsec.usca.edu    78,000
4. EdVenture Children’s Museum
   Columbia, SC                803-779-3100    www.edventure.org    72,744
5. South Carolina State Museum
   Columbia, SC           803-898-4999    www.scmuseum.org    59,811
6. South Carolina State House
   Columbia, SC      803-734-2430    www.scstatehouse.gov    50,000
7. South Carolina Aquarium
   Charleston, SC                    843-579-8600    www.scaquarium.org    49,146
8. Greenville Zoo
   Greenville, SC       864-467-4300    www.greenvillezoo.com    30,000
9. Cultural & Heritage Museums of York County (Historic Brattonsville, Museum of York Cnty, McCelvey Center)Rock Hill, SC                    803-684-2327    www.chmuseums.org    20,175
10. Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum
    Mount Pleasant, SC    866-831-1720    www.patriotspoint.org    14,914
11. Boone Hall Plantation               
    Mount Pleasant, SC    843-884-4371    www.boonehallplantation.com    12,175
12. Drayton Hall
    Charleston, SC              843-769-2600    www.draytonhall.org    11,000
13. Wonder Works
    Myrtle Beach, SC        843-626-9962    www.wonderworksonline.com    10,164
14. Greenville County Museum of Art
    Greenville, SC            864-271-7570    www.greenvillemuseum.org    9,214
15. McLeod Farms
    McBee, SC                        877-789-9252    www.MacsPride.com    8,700
16. Palace Theatre
    Myrtle Beach, SC          843-626-8927    www.palacemb.com     7,200
17. Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry
    Charleston, SC       843-853-8962    www.EXPLORECML.org    6,152
18. Dooley Planetarium
    Florence, SC                  843-661-1355    www.astro.fmarion.edu/planet    4,217
19. Historic Columbia Foundation
    Columbia, SC          803-252-1770    www.historiccolumbia.org    4,000
20. Columbia Museum of Art
    Columbia, SC    803-343-2163    www.columbiamuseum.org    3,500