South Florida is home to some really unique, interesting, fun and educational children’s museums. From science to historical information, your child may actually learn something on vacation. If you have kids on your Florida vacation, be sure to find some time to take in some of these museum options:
Miami
Open everyday except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, this museum offers kids a place to explore that features a huge sandcastle and piggy bank; a place to create and learn how to manage money, learn how proper nutrition and exercise can strengthen our bodies and minds, see how pets are cared for at home and at the vet, ride a police motorcycle and fire truck, experience different cultures, search the depths of the sea, the recesses of the Everglades, work the docks of a seaport and a constuction site, steer a cruise ship, express the world through varied arts and music or climb a mountain. All this in one building that encourages children to dive in headlong and get first hand knowledge of the world in a safe, controlled locale.
The Miami Museum of Science and Planetarium
This jewel science museum has more than 100 hands-on exhibits to help children experience first hand the principles of physics, electricity, light, sound and health. A wonderful wildlife rescue area makes this place a must see, as children can see the caretakers at task during scheduled feeding and informational tours.
Fort Lauderdale
Young at Art Children’s Museum
Kids can see 5,000 years of art and leave their mark on a cave at this recently renovated and expanded museum. They can view endless images, from classical forms to street art. They can also create their own masterpieces, garnering inspiration from the works of internationally renowned artists, like Edouard Duval Carrie of Haiti, Leonel Matheu, Chisseko Kondowe of Africa, Kenichi Yokono of Japan and Pedro Zepeda of the Seminole Indian tribe. Children build sculptures. Children can also enjoy the eco friendly marionettes in Pablo’s Magical Workshop & Theater. Children can even create their own puppets! Art expression at this museum includes musical interpretation with unusual objects. Make believe takes center stage at Alice’s Pool and The March Hare’s House & Tea Party. The magical colors and sounds in these attractions encourage spatial recognition, reading comprehension and vocabulary building in the guise of true fun.
West Palm Beach
This museum heralds an older time where instant gratification is not the goal. The schoolhouse strives to represent an interactive, true and accurate experience of the early Florida Pioneers. With no gadgets, computers, cell phones or televisions, kids who visit this museum walk away with an appreciation of what it took to survive the raw environment that existed here at one time. Exhibits are child-sized and are fully interactive and accessible to every child. This is a historical experience your child will not soon forget.
This museum houses a planetarium, aquarium, observatory, exhibits, laser concerts and hands-on exhibits to impart knowledge of the environment, light and energy. You can easily spend a full day exploring this museum.
