A
full-sized replica of a North Florida limestone cave and a 14-foot tall
mammoth skeleton are only part of the allure of the largest collections-based
natural history museum in the Southeast. With more than 25 million specimens,
the museum has one of the nation's top 10 natural history collections.
Florida's
Best Museums |
RAINY DAY FUN IN FORT MYERS When bad weather makes you come up with Plan B, Florida's many museums offer a fascinating peek at different facets of our human history, natural history, local heritage and flavor. By G.K. Sharman We know why you came here. To soak up some sun. Get some sand in your shoes. Scream your head off on a theme park ride and take the kids' picture with a giant mouse. In short, to have fun. But afternoon downpours and blast-furnace temperatures - summer facts of life in the Sunshine State - aren't exactly conducive to outdoor activities. Luckily, Florida has close to 400 places where you can stay dry and/or cool when the weather is uncooperative: museums. Now just wait - Florida museums are not the not the stale, snooty, boring places that you had to be dragged to in school. They can pique your interest in a specialized subject or amuse the young ones. Some are serious about fine art, while others are just off the wall. They're worth a visit on their own, not just as a place to escape raindrops. And they're cheap - many are free, some charge a buck or two and a rare few ask for a whopping $8 or $10 to get in. We can't cover them all here, so we picked 15 of our favorites.
A full list is available at www.flamuseums.org. |
Salvador Dali Museum, St. Petersburg
The museum is the permanent home of the world's most comprehensive collection
of original works by Salvador Dalí. The collection includes 95 oil paintings
and more than 100 watercolors and drawings as well as graphics, photographs,
sculptures and objects d'art.
John
and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota
Affiliated with Florida State University, this 66-acre estate is the largest
museum/university complex in the nation. Ringling, of circus fame, was one of
the biggest tycoons of his day. The museum includes 21 galleries filled with
art by European and American masters.
International Museum of Cartoon Art, Boca Raton
This is no laughing matter - this is the only museum of its kind and includes
the work of cartoonists from more than 50 countries. The collection consists
of more than 160,000 original drawings from every genre of cartooning, as well
as more than 10,000 books on cartoons.
Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach
Situated on the campus of Daytona Beach Community College, this 7,500-square-foot
museum is a major national showcase for innovative photography exhibits and
programs. It's one of fewer than a dozen such centers in the nation and the
only one in the South. The museum also offers lectures, workshops, a library
and a state-funded artist-in-residence program.
The
Mennollo Museum of Art, Orlando
The Mennollo Museum of American Folk Art is one of a few museums in the
US dedicated to collecting, exhibiting and preserving self-taught American art.
The Museum features Florida folk artist Earl Cunningham and many other outstanding
self-taught artists. The Museum is owned and operated by the City of Orlando.
History and culture:
Morikami Museum and Japanese Garden, Delray Beach
The Morikami is the only museum in the nation dedicated exclusively to the
living culture of Japan. Its original building is modeled after a Japanese residence
and chronicles the history of the Yamato Colony, an agricultural community of
Japanese families in Boca Raton.
Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki
Museum, Big Cypress Seminole Reservation, Clewiston
Meaning means "to learn" in the language of the Seminoles, this
museum showcases the tribe's history, culture, daily habits, folklore, marriage
customs and spiritual beliefs. Artifacts on display include moccasins and leggings,
jewelry, medicine baskets, war-period swords and firearms and Seminole patchwork.
Jewish Museum of Florida, Miami Beach
Tells the story of Jews in Florida, from 1763 to the present. The museum
is housed in a former synagogue that served Miami Beach's first congregation.
Displays include more than 500 photos and artifacts.
Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society and Museum, Key West
The Spanish came to the New World seeking gold. Not all of the treasure
that they (and other explorers) acquired ever made it back to Europe. Some of
what sank to the sea floor in hurricanes between the late 15th and mid-18th
centuries now rests in this Key West museum: Gold bars. More than 4,000 silver
coins. A gold chalice. A 6-inch gold cross set with emeralds, along with swords,
guns, pottery and personal effects.
John
Gorrie State Museum, Apalachicola
No history of Florida would be complete without a museum honoring the father
of refrigeration and air conditioning. A replica of his ice machine, built from
the specs of his 1851 patent, is on display.
Natural history and science:
Florida
Museum of Natural History, University of Florida campus, Gainesville
This is the state's official natural history museum and the largest such
museum in the Southeast. It's dedicated to preserving the region's biological
diversity and cultural heritage and contains more than 25 million species of
fauna, from mammals to mollusks, fish to invertebrate fossils.
Florida Aquarium, Tampa
This 152,000-square-foot aquarium follows a drop of water from its underground
origin, through rivers and cypress swamps to mangrove forests, along coastal
beaches and into the deep ocean. On display are more than 10,000 aquatic plants
and animals.
Special interests, sports and other attractions:
Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, Sanibel
Serious scientists, school kids and shell enthusiasts all seek out this
center of mollusk study. Some 150,000 shells from around the world - marine
and terrestrial, modern and fossilized -make up the collection. A slide show
on the biology of local mollusks is given four times a day.
International Game Fish Association Fishing Hall of Fame
and Museum, Dania Beach
This place is a little fishy. The museum celebrates recreational angling
with stories, world records, awards, art and fishing technology. Above it all
soar mounted life-size world-record sport fish. The reel - um, I mean, real
- message is about the importance of conserving and protecting aquatic resources.
Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing, Ocala
This is a museum for folks who feel a need for speed. It tells the history
of drag racing by preserving historic vehicles, honoring the sport's pioneers
and developing a national archive and library of the sport.
International Swimming Hall of Fame, Fort Lauderdale
Olympic memorabilia from more than 100 countries is part of the display
at this non-for-profit educational center that honors swimming and aquatic history.
In addition to exhibits, the center contains a training facility with a swimming
flume, a pair of Olympic-sized pools and a diving well.