Museums in Florida include collections and tributes to almost anything that can be imagined.
They range in size and magnificence from the
Florida Museum of Natural History
in Gainesville to the small but valuable Welaka Maritime Museum in a small town on the St. Johns River.
Museums are scattered all over Florida. You are never far from one, and you will always be entertained and educated by a visit.
There are numerous categories of museums in Florida: art, aerospace, history, natural history, science, specialties (like quilts or teddy bears), zoos, aquariums, botanic gardens, arboretums, nature centers, historic sites and structures and similar institutions.
For purposes of the Florida Backroads Travel website, we lump all of these into the general category of "museum", whether they are Florida art museums or history museums.
This website is not an attempt to be an exhaustive listing of all of the museums in Florida.
It offers instead a representative number of museums in each of Florida's 8 regions, and will in many cases provide a link to individual museum websites.
Check Florida's regions for some of the museums.
The map below is from the "Florida Association of Museums"
Here are the Top 10 Reasons To Visit A Museum.
1. Museum visits are fun and make you feel good. They are typically quiet zones filled with respectful people.
2. Museums always teach you something. Their primary reason for being is to teach you something, and they never fail.
3. Museums provide an efficient way of learning. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then an actual object or demonstration is worth a thousand pictures.
4. Museums are neighborhood centers. They attact volunteers and like minded people interested in learning and communicating.
5. Museums are inspirational. Whether it's great art, a fantastic collection of pottery, or an ancient dinosaur skeleton, you will be awed and uplifted.
6. Museums help change communities for the better. The promotion of education and the cultivation of conversation that are taking place in museums strengthen neighborhoods.
7. Museums are a great way to spend time with friends and family. A day at the museum often translates to a day spent with loved ones as parents and kids share a learning experience.
8. A museum may be your next business opportunity. It takes a lot of employees to help run a museum. it takes many businesses and community partners to keep them going.
9. Museums are often free. And even if they are not, the admission fee is usually very reasonable.
10. Museums are always close by. There are museums from one end of Florida to the other.
Colleen Dilenschneider, who describes herself as a Generation Y museum lover, has a recent blog from which my list was borrowed titled
"10 Reasons To Visit A Museum".
The website of the Florida Association of Museums has a lot of detailed information on
Museums in Florida.
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