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Florida is home to
an ever growing variety museums, cultural exhibitions and art galleries.
See museums of science and nature, listed buildings housing antiques and
furniture, historic sites exhibiting cultural and historic artifacts,
and art old and new.
Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki
Museum
The museum exhibits and rare artifacts show how Seminole ancestors lived
in the Florida swamps and Everglades. Nature trails will take you throughout
the beautiful 60-acre cypress dome to a living village. The museum also
has interactive computers, and a Native American gift shop.
Appleton
Museum of Art
4333 N.E. Silver Springs Blvd. Ocala, FL 352-236-7100 Fax: 352-236-7136
Florida's largest year round lineup of internationally acclaimed special
exhibitions. Permanent collections feature: International Contemporary
Art, a renowned collection of 19th Century European paintings, sculptures,
decorative arts movies, workshops, lectures and special events.
Apopka
Historical Society and Museum of Apopkans
122 E Fifth St Apopka, Florida 32703 Tel: 407-703-1707
Air Force Space
and Missile Museum
Cape Canaveral Air Station. Tel:321-853-3245
Rockets, defense missiles, satellites and other space-related objects
are displayed. Introducing the history of rockets and space flight. Site
of first US satellite launch and first two manned launches.
Brevard Museum
of Art and Science
1463 Highland Avenue, Melbourne, 32935. Tel:321-242-0737
Science Center with many hands on activities for children
Brevard Museum
of History and Natural Science
2201 Michigan Avenue, Cocoa; (321)632-1830.
Walk back in time and see how Native Americans lived and pioneers survived.
Bass Museum of
Art
2121 Park Avenue, Miami Beach. (305) 673-7530
The Bass offers an overview of Old Master paintings, sculptures and textiles.
Collections include European art and decorative arts as well as American,
Asian and contemporary art. Traveling exhibitions from around the globe
are offered. The newly expanded museum, designed by architect Arata Isozaki,
has a media center, café and terrace, and museum shop.
Cedar Key Museum
State Park
Cedar Key, Florida
Cedar Key Museum State Park was established in 1962 and dedicated to St.
Clair Whitman who operated the first museum in Cedar Key. Most of Mr.
Whitman’s collections are displayed in the museum. These collections include
exhibits on the Timucuan Indians, antique glassware, old bottles, a very
complete collection of sea shells, items from the pencil manufacturing
days, fiber broom and brush manufacturing, and photographs of old Cedar
Key.
Camp Gordon Museum
1334 Carrabelle. Fl 32322
To preserve the memory of the Amphibious soldiers who trained and served
in WWII, Korea and Vietnam.
Constitution Convention
State Museum
Port St. Joe, Florida
The Constitution Convention and the vanished city of St. Joseph are featured
here.
Coral Gables Merrick
House
907 Coral Way, Coral Gables. (305) 460-5361
The boyhood home of George E. Merrick, founder and developer of Coral
Gables, is a landmark built in 1899 as a frame house, and added onto in
1906. The house has been restored to its 1920s period and filled with
Merrick family art, furnishings and personal treasures.
Forest Capital
State Museum
Perry, Florida
A dome forming the center of the museum houses an unusual map that features
the unique woods of Florida: lignumvitae, the hardest wood; leadwood or
black ironwood, the heaviest wood; and buttonwood, the wood that burns
the hottest and produces very little smoke.
Flagler Museum
The Museum is located on the corner of Cocoanut Row and Whitehall Way
in Palm Beach, Florida.
Learn about Florida from the beginning, when Henry Flagler's railroads
and luxury hotels established tourism and agriculture as the mainstays
of Florida's economy.
Florida Historical
Society & Library
435 Brevard Avenue, Cocoa 32922.
Tebeau-Field Research Library of Florida History, book and gift shop and
exhibits .
Fort Christmas
Historical Park & Museum
1300 Fort Christmas Rd, Christmas, FL 32709. Tel: 407-568-4149 or 407-568-6942.
A 25 acre park with a replica fort built in 1837 during the Second Seminole
Indian War, traditional Florida "Cracker" house, sugar and tennis courts,
playground, rental pavilions and picnic areas with grills.
Florida International
Museum
100 Second Street North - St. Petersburg, FL 33701
The Florida International Museum features a permanent Kennedy family exhibition
plus rotating exhibits in a fun, exciting and educational environment.
Over 30,000 square-feet, two theaters, audio tour of the Kennedy collection.
In the heart of the restaurant and entertainment district of St. Petersburg.
Flying Tigers Warbird
Restoration Museum
The museum allows visitors a chance to see the history that many only
heard about. Here you can see the restoration of vintage aircraft take
place and then taken out to stretch their wings again right over the museum
for all to see and hear!.
Florida
Museum of Natural History
Offering more than 25 million specimens of amphibians, birds, butterflies,
fish, mammals, mollusks, reptiles, vertebrate and invertebrate fossils,
recent and fossil plants and associated databases and libraries, the Florida
Museum is the largest natural history museum in the Southeast.
Gold
Coast Railroad Museum
12450 Southwest 152 Street, Miami. (305) 253-0063
Featuring more than 40 pieces of railroad rolling stock and equipment
including diesel and steam locomotives, the museum is dedicated to preserving,
exhibiting, and operating historic rail equipment. The Museum was formed
in 1957 by activists trying to save pieces of Florida history that were
taken for granted and rapidly disappearing. Its collection includes the
Ferdinand Magellan (the private railroad car built for President Franklin
Roosevelt), the Florida East Coast Railway locomotive 153, (the engine
that pulled the rescue train out of Marathon after the 1935 hurricane);
and the 113, (an FEC locomotive built in 1913 and used in regular revenue
service over the entire Florida East Coast railroad). The "Train Crew
Member For-A-Day" program enables the public to act as a part of the Train
Crew on Museum trains.
Graves
Museum of Archaeology & Natural History
Exhibits include dinosaurs, paleontology, minerals, the geology, history
and first natives of Florida, shipwrecks and underwater archaeology, Pre-Columbian
ceramics African, Egyptian, and many Mediterranean cultures. School tours,
workshops, outreaches, birthdays and theme parties available. Family archaeology
and fossil trips.
Grant Historical
House
5795 U.S. Highway 1, Grant 32949
1916 "Catalog" house; Tours, antiques, household furnishings.
Halifax Historical Museum
Explore 10,000 Years of History and Folklife in Greater Miami, South Florida
and the Caribbean
Honor America/Liberty
Bell Memorial Museum
1601 Oak Street, Melbourne. Tel:321-727-1776
American historical museum featuring a full size replica of the Liberty
Bell. Honor America organizes, promotes and operates public service projects
such as a speakers bureau, essay contests, historical movie showings,
scholarships, band concerts, patriotic celebrations, and displays important
local, national historical and military artifacts.
Henry B. Plant
Museum
Tampa, Florida
This quintessential Victorian palace features unique Moorish revival architecture
and dramatic minarets. Visitors can enjoy the opulent European furniture
and art treasures of the original railroad resort and the Gilded Age.
The museum also features a permanent exhibit on the Spanish American War.
John Gorrie State
Museum
Loxahatchee Historical
Museum
Specialising in the preservation and promotion of the history of Florida,
particularly the southeast region and the area between the headwaters
of the Loxahatchee River and the Jupiter Inlet.
Lowe Art Museum
1301 Stanford Drive, Coral Gables. (305) 284-3535
The Lowe is South Florida’s only area museum owning a distinguished collection
of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman antiquities. From origins in three classrooms
in 1948, history of the Lowe Art Museum reflects commitment to serving
the University of Miami along with residents and visitors. A gift from
philanthropists Joe and Emily Lowe allowed the 1952 opening of a free-standing
museum facility to the public as South Florida’s first art museum. Its
10,000-object collection is one of the most important in the southeast,
with strengths in Renaissance and Baroque, American, Native American,
pre–Columbian, and Asian art. A 1956 donation by Alfred I. Barton bought
one of the country's finest collections of Native American art. In 1987,
the Lowe was designated a “Major Cultural Institution” by the State of
Florida. On the U.M. campus in Coral Gables, Metrorail arrivals should
take the “University” stop. From there, a free U.M. shuttle bus heads
for the museum, which has a gift shop..
Miami Museum of
Science
3280 South Miami Avenue, Coconut Grove. (305) 646-4200.
The Museum of Science has more than 140 hands-on exhibits exploring mysteries
of the universe. In addition to robotic dinosaurs and the other manufactured
displays, live demonstrations and collections of rare natural history
specimens provide informative fun, and often involve audience participation.
The Wildlife Center has more than 175 live reptiles and birds of prey.
The adjacent Space Transit Planetarium projects astronomy and laser shows
and interactive demonstrations of computer technology and cyberspace.
Museum favorites include the Cyber City exhibit that explores the future
of computers in society and the nationally-recognized Falcon Batchelor
Bird of Prey Center, which not only teaches about these aggressive but
lovable animals but also helps save endangered ones.
Military Museum
Near Merritt Square Mall. 400 S. Sykes Creek Pkwy., Merritt Island. Tel:321-453-1776
Artifacts from the Civil War to the present, displays show uniforms, medals,
model airplanes, military library.
Morse Museum of
American Art
Exit 45 at Fairbanks Avenue; right on Fairbanks, left on Park Avenue;
museum is at Canton and Park avenues.
Mennello Museum
of American Folk Art
900 East Princeton Street Orlando, Florida 32803
The Mennello Museum of American Folk Art was created to house and exhibit
the paintings of the primitive genius, folk painter, Earl Cunningham (1893-1977).
The museum is dedicated to the work of this national treasure.The museum
endeavors to preserve, exhibit, and interpret the Museum's outstanding
permanent collection of paintings by Earl Cunningham (1893-1977). The
Museum also seeks to enrich the public through special exhibitions, publications,
and programs that celebrate outstanding traditional and contemporary Amercian
folk artists.
Morikami Museum
& Japanese Gardens
Delray Beach, Florida
The Morikami Museum celebrates the living culture of Japan and the unique
history of a Japanese farming colony in Florida. Morikami Park offers
200 acres of tranquil pine forest, nature trails, lakes and waterfalls,
shaded picnic pavilions, Japanese Gardens and bonsai collections
North Brevard Historical
Museum
301 South Washington Ave, Titusville. Tel:321-269-3658
The museum displays photographs, furniture, clothing and artifacts that
reflect the lifestyle of early Titusville and surrounding areas, including
an 1877 Florida Star printing press and hand prints of the original Mercury
astronauts.
Norton Museum of
Art
1451 S. Olive Ave. West Palm Beach, FL 33401 (561) 832-5196
Get Directions Internationally distinguished for its collection of 19th
and 20th century European, Renaissance and Baroque, American, Chinese
and contemporary art, photography, and works on paper. National traveling
exhibitions, education program for children & adults.
The Orlando Science
Center is 207,000 square-foot "hands-on" learning center with hundreds
of interactives for all ages.
The Orlando Museum
of Art is dedicated to collecting, preserving and interpreting notable
works of art.
Old School Square
Cultural Arts Center
A nationally recognized historic preservation project, thanks to the determination
of a local group of citizens who saved the 1913 Delray Beach Elementary
and 1925 Delray Beach High School buildings from demolition
Olde Cocoa Village
P.O. Box 1, Cocoa 32923; Brevard and Delannoy Avenues, Cocoa
Historic downtown Cocoa. Theatre, community events, shopping.
Porcher House
20th Century Greek Revival architecture done in Coquina Rock. Built
in 1916 as a private home. Private functions, weddings, parties. National
Register of Historic Homes. 434 Delannoy Avenue, Cocoa 32922: 321-639-3500
The Panhandle Pioneer
Settlement
A nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of rural Florida.
The Panhandle Pioneer Settlement offers guests the opportunity to see
Florida life as it was around the turn of the century.
Potters Wax Museum
17 King Street St. Augustine, FL 32084. 1-800-584-4781
Polk Museum of
Art
800 E. Palmetto St. Lakeland, FL 863-688-7743 Fax: 863-688-2611
The museum houses nine galleries on two floors, with pre-Columbian artifacts,
outdoor sculpture gardens, exhibits with works from the permanent collection,
and works by Polk County school students.
The Pensacola Museum
of Art
Fine art exhibitions every six weeks with a variety of related programs
such as lectures, workshops for children and adults, and free family days.
Ringling Museum
it's an experience for young and old alike, displays include photographs,
sequined costumes, performing props, miniature circuses, and elaborately
carved circus wagons
Ripley's Believe
It Or Not Museum
located at 8201 International Drive 2 blocks south of Sandlake road, just
off (Eastbound) exit 29 or (Westbound) 29A from Interstate 4.St Augustine,
Florida
See the weird and the wonderful!
Space Walk of Fame
Museum - U.S.
Miracle City Mall, Titusville, FL 32782-6385. Tel:321-264-0434
A one-of-a-kind museum illustrating America's history in space exploration
by displaying hundreds of rare photos, space patches and pins, space hardware,
flight suits, shuttle tiles, bronzed handprints of Apollo and shuttle
astronauts and miscellaneous memorabilia. Also included is a reading library
of space-oriented books, magazine articles, documents and mission directories
as well as video tapes.
Sarasota's Ringling
Museum - it's an experience for young and old alike, displays include
photographs, sequined costumes, performing props, miniature circuses,
and elaborately carved circus wagons
South Florida Science
Museum
4801 Dreher Trail N. West Palm Beach, FL 33405 (561) 832-1988
Get Directions Hands-on science center, aquarium, planetarium, museum
store, weekend "live" science shows, observatory, laser concerts and science
trial. Permanent and traveling exhibits. Family-oriented activities for
all ages. Open 363 days a year.
Teddy
Bear Museum of Naples
2511 Pine Ridge Road Naples, Florida 34109
The Teddy Bear Museum features nearly 4000 bears from miniature to life-size;
antique/limited edition bears, teddy bear art and a gift shop with one-of-a-kind
items.
Tallahassee
Antique Car Museum
The Tallahassee Antique Car Museum features more than 85 rare automobiles,
the original Batmobiles, pedal cars, boat motors dating back to 1908,
Indian artifacts, motorcycles, cash registers, golf collections, and more.
Vizcaya Museum
& Gardens
3251 South Miami Avenue, Miami, Florida 33129. Tel:305-250-9133
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens provides a window to both the history of Miami,
graced by the villa since it completion in 1916; and to the Italian Renaissance,
represented in the Museum's architecture. Its art and furnishings portray
400 years of European history.
James Deering's 34-room
winter residence showcases a long-gone lifestyle as well as America’s
finest collection of 15th through 19th century furniture and decorative
arts. When Deering (1859-1925) started to build his estate more than 85
years ago, he enlisted help from New York painter Paul Chalfin. They made
buying trips to Europe for important architectural components, furniture,
and art including wall panels, ceilings, mantels, and tapestries. Each
room conveys a particular period style, from Renaissance to Baroque, Rococo
and Neoclassic. Deering's suite covers several Neoclassic periods. In
the sitting room, Italian carved wood paneling frames Louis XVI silk on
walls, and massive mahogany desks are French Empire. A French Savonnerie
rug dates from the early 19th century. His bedroom contains a gold laurel
wreath on the ceiling, bed drapery supported by a bronze eagle and gold-decorated
mahogany furniture of the Napoleonic French Empire period. Deering's bath
features a linen ceiling canopy, suggestive of a Napoleonic campaign tent.
Marble walls are decorated with Sheffield silver. Since Vizcaya was acquired
by Miami-Dade County in 1952, the main house and contents have undergone
extensive restoration. Unoccupied since Deering's death, salt air humidity
and neglect had taken their toll. In 1987, the open courtyard was enclosed
and air-conditioned for preservation.
The Visual Arts
Center
Located in downtown Panama City on the corner of Fourth Street and Harrison
Avenue, across from the Martin Theatre. The museum features a children's
hands-on Impressions Gallery and gift shop. Exhibits spotlight local,
regional, and national artists.
Valiant Air
Command
6600 Tico Road, Titusville, Fl. Located east of I-95 exit 79.
Museum located on Space Coast Regional Airport, Titusville
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