Family fun in Columbia

South Carolina’s state capital has plenty of fun things to do

by Marilyn Jones

Columbia, S.C., is an easy three-and-a-half-hour interstate drive from the Triangle and well worth the trip when you survey all this state capital has to offer. From the EdVenture Children’s Museum to the Riverbanks Zoo & Garden to the Columbia Museum of Art to Cogaree National Park located in nearby Hopkins, the area has something for everyone in the family to enjoy.

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A study in creepy crawlies

Uncovering the exoskeletons in your closet

by Dr. Michelle Trautwein 

It was the middle of the night when the cat crept into my room, carrying her prey. Purring with pride, she gently presented me with a mortally wounded American cockroach the size of her head. This dying roach, gifted to me on my pillow, then heaved its damaged body across my sleeping face. Eww. You know the roach I’m talking about. It’s big, and though some people call it a water bug or a palmetto bug, no name can disguise that fact that it is just a giant flying roach.

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