Penn Center

We were so excited to visit this place with so much history, but left feeling frustrated and extremely dissatisfied. The main frustration is the lack of information - we paid the museum cost of $15/per person, and given no other information. The Penn Center covers 50 acres and there are about 25 buildingS spread out across the campus, only 2 buildings (that we saw) have exhibits. We werent told where to go, and had to make frequent trips back to the welcome center to ask what else we could see. On the 2nd or 3rd trip we were finally offered a map of the campus for $5!!! You have to pay extra just to find your way around the property. The museum itself is so badly curated it is a disservice to the phenomenal history of the Penn Center. There are so many spectacular stories to tell - from Robert Smalls, to MLK, Jr and the writing of the I have a dream speech at the Penn Center - but these dont get told!! Or at the least, they are lost amidst an incoherent narrative. Lastly, we were given the opportunity to watch 2 videos - I was hoping to get more information from these that the museum itself did not offer. But there was so much talking in the museum by the staff and National Park Service workers that we couldnt hear the videos!! in the end, I felt like this was a huge missed opportunity - the Penn Center shared an amazing slice of American History, but does nothing to showcase it.
Aug 12th, 2023

So much to learn here. The staff was amazing! More
Aug 12th, 2023

Aug 5th, 2023

Penn Center is a very important piece of African American History and its impact on the Gullah Geechee community. More
Aug 3rd, 2023

More
Jul 30th, 2023