Museums, Aquariums & Wonder Spots

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Vintage poster of children at a glowing aquarium reef window beneath a glass dome with a spoonbill flying through the light

The Florida Aquarium with Kids: A Local's Room-by-Room Game Plan

The Florida Aquarium with kids: the room-by-room game plan, from the wetlands dome to the stingray touch pool, plus timing and ticket strategy.

Photo of a rescued young sea turtle receiving a gentle exam at a rehab pool while a child watches from the rail

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Clearwater Marine Aquarium: The Rescue Story Behind Every Tank

Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a working rescue hospital: every resident has a rescue story, Winter's legacy lives on, and kids leave wanting to help.

Painting of a family at a forked path where one child heads toward a science wonderland and a toddler toward a pretend village

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MOSI or Glazer? Choosing Tampa's Science Museums by Age

MOSI or Glazer Children's Museum? The honest age guide to Tampa's two science stops: Glazer under 8, MOSI's hands-on science for the bigger kids.

Photo of a toddler seriously scanning play groceries at a children's museum pretend market with stuffed animals in line

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Great Explorations: St. Pete's Children's Museum, Reviewed by Actual Children

Great Explorations Children's Museum in St. Pete, reviewed by its actual audience: the pretend city, the toddler zones, and the Sunken Gardens pairing.

Photo style image of a child's palm on the glass of a rehab pool window as a manatee brings its whiskered face close

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The Bishop Museum in Bradenton: Manatee Rehab, Mastodons, and a Planetarium

The Bishop Museum in Bradenton: watch real manatee rehab patients, meet Ice Age Florida's mastodon, and catch a planetarium show, all under one roof.

Vintage poster of a child at the wooden wheel of the museum's boardable pirate ship beside a case of salvaged treasure

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Tampa Bay History Center: Making 12,000 Years Interesting to a Nine-Year-Old

The Tampa Bay History Center with kids: a boardable pirate ship, the Tocobaga galleries, cigar city, and 12,000 years made genuinely interesting.

Painting of a child holding a library card aloft like a legendary sword on museum steps as the family charges up behind

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Free Museum Days and Library Passes Around Tampa Bay: The Family Calendar

Free museum access around Tampa Bay: Hillsborough's Discovery Pass, the Pinellas library museum pass program, community free days, and the family system.

Photo style image of a child studying a melting clocks painting while the gallery's real wall clock quietly melts behind a guard

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The Dalí with Kids? Yes, Really: How to Do an Art Museum with Young Ones

The Dalí Museum with kids works better than it has any right to: melting clocks, a glass bubble building, and the scavenger method that makes it fun.