Florida Museum of Natural History
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Explore Florida’s rich natural history and cultural heritage at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida in Gainesville. There is something for everyone here and all ages will be fascinated by the free permanent displays or the limited event exhibits for an additional fee.
The Museum was founded in the 1890s at the Florida Agricultural College in Lake City and then moved to the Gainesville UF Campus in 1906. It became Florida’s official natural history museum and the first state-legislated cultural institution. With extensive collections and research in archaeology, biology, ethnography, and paleontology , it has become one of the Nation’s top five natural history museums.
The free exhibits include Northwest Florida’s Waterways and Wildlife, South Florida People and Environments, and the Beverly and Jon Thompson Discovery Zone. The current limited event exhibits are the Butterfly Rainforest and Fantastic Fossils. There is a fee for attending both of these but definitely worth the price of admission.
Pets are not allowed in the museum but well-behaved, trained service dogs and miniature horses are allowed as in compliance with US and Florida laws. Comfort and emotional support animals are not permitted.
The Museum is open year-round 10am-5pm on Monday through Saturday and 1pm-5pm on Sunday. It is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. If you are planning on attending one of the feature exhibits, the last tickets are sold 30 minutes prior to closing and the special exhibits close at 4:30pm.
Nearby Campgrounds
There are quite a few great campgrounds near Gainesville. Williston Crossings, Keystone Heights, and Champions Run RV Resorts are all amazing destinations of their own. They do book up and have different policies for kids so make sure to call ahead to reserve.
For more information on The Florida Museum of Natural History check out their webpage. For RVing and RV Travel blogs, please visit our website blog. For our upcoming RV Shows check out our Show Homepage.
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