• Home
  • Posts
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Shop

Floridiana Magazine

History. Heritage. Home.

June 17, 2017

Museum of Florida History

June 17, 2017

What’s the saying about “the best-laid plans?”  On occasion, those plans for a day of “celebrating all things Florida” are impacted for one reason or another.  The day we loaded up and headed towards the St. Marks Lighthouse in Wakulla County, Mother Nature had a different idea.  As the skies turned gray and it was obvious we were heading into rain, we went on to Plan B: The Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee.

Not all museums are child-friendly, but the Museum of Florida History is. Our group included my grandchildren, ages six months, three and five.  Obviously, the two older ones were the ones we had to keep interested – and from the moment we arrived, they were!

Exhibits

Just inside the door, visitors are greeted by a mastodon, found in Wakulla Springs and one of the original exhibits from the Museum’s opening in 1977.

Mastodon found in Wakulla Springs

The Museum houses four permanent exhibits: Forever Changed: La Florida 1513 – 1821, Florida in the Civil War, World War II and Naval Ships Named Florida. Colorful displays, informational panels, and replicas of Spanish ships provide visitors with a “walk through time.”

In addition to the exhibits themselves, there are more than 45,700 artifacts on display throughout the museum.  Military artifacts from the Civil War and World War II are featured prominently in the Museum, as well as jewelry and gold coins.

Hands-On Displays

Many of the exhibits also offer opportunities to interact with Florida history – whether it’s picking up a six-pound shot from an iron cannon on a Spanish merchant vessel…

Or taking the helm of a river boat.

And for the older visitors, knot tying is a skill you can practice on board the Spanish ship.

Florida history truly comes to life for visitors of all ages with these fun displays.

Grandma’s Attic

One of the favorite hands-on exhibits is Grandma’s Attic.  Imagine what it was like to walk up the stairs to the attic and finding a treasure trove of things to play with.  That’s how this exhibit is set up – housing all those things Grandma didn’t want to get rid of.  Games, clothes, and an old stove are just a few of the items to entertain visitors.  And it’s not just for the little tykes.  There is something in this attic people of all ages can remember.

Temporary Exhibits

Besides the permanent displays, the Museum houses temporary exhibits.  The current exhibit (through July 23, 2017) is Beaches, Creatures and Cowboys: Florida Movie Posters.  Representing films in Florida from the 1920s to the present, there are nearly 50 movie posters and other advertising memorabilia on display.

It’s fun to see how many of them you knew were filmed in Florida, like Apollo 13 or The Yearling, but, did you know Edward Scissorhands also has a Florida tie?  You’ll even see a poster for Creature from the Black Lagoon, filmed in nearby Wakulla Springs.

Other Things to See

There is so much more to see at the Museum than just these exhibits. The Museum houses a complete collection of art from each of the 26 Florida Highwaymen, a group of African American artists who traveled the highways of south Florida selling their paintings in the 1960s and 1970s.

Even after you leave the building, the exhibits continue.  Just outside the Museum is Florida’s World War II Monument. Completed in 2004, it is dedicated to the 248,000 Floridians who served in the Armed Services during the war, including the 4,600 who paid the ultimate sacrifice.  The centerpiece of the memorial is a replica of Florida’s pillar at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The monument sits at the end of a path lined with markers for each of the state’s 67 counties and provides local connections and reverence for the war effort.

 

FM Notes

The Museum of Florida History is open Monday – Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday and holidays from Noon to 4:30 p.m.  Admission is free.  It’s a great place to spend the day – whether to get in out of the heat or in out of the Florida rain.

MFH_kidsatfort
MFH_grandmasattic_quilt
MFH_Gatorhide
MFH_Transportation
MFH_Militaryexhibit
MFH_Coastguardflag

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

2 Comments · Labels: Family Friendly, History, People, Places Tagged: family friendly, Florida day trips, Florida Highwaymen, Florida History, Florida movies, Florida Travel Blog, Floridiana Magazine, Hands-on museum, Museum of Florida History, Places to go in Florida, Tallahassee Museums, Things to do in Florida, World War II Monument

Comments

  1. Nancy Collins says

    June 17, 2017 at 7:30 pm

    I’m learning so much about our beloved state from your posts! Keep up the good work!
    Love learning!!

    Reply
  2. Debra says

    August 12, 2018 at 1:36 am

    There was a huge bone of 2.5 Million years old dug up I Cape Coral the city is putting in pipes and won’t stop or allow digging to get the rest of this huge creature ,help.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Sopchoppy Worm Gruntin’ Festival
  • Cedar Key – Open for Business
  • Carrabelle, Florida: Get Hooked  
  • Florida Caverns State Park
  • Madison County, FL
  • 25 Florida Ways to Celebrate Mother’s Day
  • Havana: Florida’s Friendliest Small Town
  • Lloyd and its Historic Railroad Depot
  • The Harvey Trucks | May They Rust in Peace
  • “Old Pisgah” | Pisgah United Methodist Church

Topics

  • Attractions
  • Family Friendly
  • Festivals
  • Florida Art and Culture
  • Florida Restaurants
    • Florida Eats
  • Food and Beverage
  • Gifts
  • History
  • Natural Florida
    • Florida State Parks
  • Old Florida
  • Old Florida Churches
  • Old Vehicles
  • People
    • Faces of Florida
  • Places
    • Small Florida Towns
  • Post Cards

Search this Site

Subscribe to Floridiana Magazine via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 461 other subscribers

Follow us on Social Media

  • View FloridianaMagazine’s profile on Facebook
  • View @FloridianaMag’s profile on Twitter
  • View floridianamag’s profile on Instagram
  • View floridianamagaz’s profile on Pinterest

Theme by 17th Avenue · Powered by WordPress & Genesis

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d