Florida
Below is an alphabetical list of places throughout Florida offering educational opportunities to children and families. If you would like to narrow your search to places in your area, please enter your city in the search box. If you know of a great place to go, please let us know so we can share it with other homeschoolers!
For a complete list of Florida state parks, visit the Florida State Parks official website. In addition, the Florida Association of Museums offers a searchable database of more than 340 Florida museums.
Learn about the Seminoles in a fun and interactive tour at the Seminole Indian Museum, Ah-Tah-Thi-ki, located in Clewiston and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Whether you are on vacation or just a day out, the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum offers a unique range of educational experiences for visitors of any age to learn firsthand about the rich culture and heritage of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Both locations offer guided and self guided tours. School tours fulfill several of the Sunshine State Standards for American History and Geography and can be tailored for specific content and age-appropriateness. (Clewiston) (Fort Lauderdale)
Baker Block Museum is a living history museum . Take a walk through the past to gain knowledge and perspective of life, heritage and history of Baker, Florida. Learn about naval stores, lumbering, farming, land development, local military patriots and much more. Be sure to tour their collection rooms and outdoor cabin exhibits! Admission is free! (Baker)
Biscayne National Park provides a perfect outdoor classroom with its four interrelated natural systems and cultural resources spanning 10,000 years. It is a place where a mainland mangrove shoreline, a shallow bay, the northern Florida Keys and living coral reef intermingle. Plan a field trip and embark on the adventure of exploring one of almost 400 National Park Units in the country! (Homestead)
The Brevard Art Museum, is a gathering place, a visitor attraction, a landmark, an anchor, a catalyst for change; we exist to educate and to deliver a message that will encourage people to think differently about their relationship to others and the world; a center of creativity, the Museum collects, displays and interprets all aspects of the visual arts, particularly women artists, in ways that relate to the past, to the present, and to the future. The Brevard Art Museum is a community cultural bridge. (Melbourne)
The Challenger Learning Center is a 32,000 square-foot facility located on beautiful Kleman Plaza in downtown Tallahassee. The Center is the K-12 outreach facility of the Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering and uses aerospace as a theme to foster long-term interest in math, science and technology; create positive learning experiences; and motivate students to pursue careers in these fields. To accomplish this mission, the Challenger Learning Center features a state-of-the-art Space Mission Simulator and utilizes the immersiveness of an IMAX® theatre and a domed high-definition planetarium to create a holistic educational and entertaining experience. (Tallahassee)
The Emerald Coast Science Center is located in a beautiful waterfront park directly on the sound in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. There is plenty of room for picnics, parties and even several bus loads of school children on one of the best field trips ever. They offer exhibits, programs, and monthly homeschool science workshops. (Fort Walton Beach)
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is one of the world's preeminent botanic gardens, with extensive collections of rare tropical plants including palms, cycads, flowering trees, tropical fruit trees, vines, and succulents. Opened in 1938, the 83-acre garden is among the region's most popular visitor attractions and offers tours along with a variety of programs in environmental education, conservation and horticulture. (Coral Gables)
The Florida Museum of Natural History, located in Gainesville at the University of Florida, is Florida's state museum of natural history, dedicated to understanding, preserving and interpreting biological diversity and cultural heritage. (Gainesville)
The Gulfcoast Wonder & Imagination Zone, a/k/a G.WIZ, is located in Sarasota, Florida and offers programs throughout the year to preschool age through adults. There are exhibits, workshops, school programs, and camps. (Sarasota)
Great Explorations Children's Museum is one of America's top museums for children and is located next to historic Sunken Gardens on North 4th Street. Great Explorations opens at 10 AM with interactive, educational exhibits that can provide hours of fun for children ... and adults! (St. Petersburg)
The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood presents contemporary gallery exhibitions, live stage performances, and high-quality education programs for adults and children. They offer music instruction for a variety of instruments to children and teens. They also host a summer arts camp. (Hollywood)
Big Cypress National Preserve, in cooperation with the Collier County School District, conducts the Swamp, Water and Me Program (S.W.A.M.P.). This curriculum based program provides an opportunity for sixth grade students within the county to explore and learn about the Big Cypress Swamp, a major portion of their backyard. (Located between the cities of Miami and Naples.)
Bok Tower Gardens presents a range of educational opportunities both for adult life-long learners as well as for families and school children in the forms of workshops, classes, excursions, concerts, field trips and Girl Scout programs. Through these enriching programs and events an appreciation for the environment, history and culture, art, music and social studies is presented in a fun and interactive way creating personal memories to cherish. It is a national historic landmark located in Lake Wales, Florida. (Lake Wales)
Castillo de San Marcos is a national monument located in St. Augustine, Florida. The Castillo comes alive through a diverse range of programs which include Ranger talks, museum exhibits, historical weapons demonstrations, living history reenactments, and special events. Visit their website for a small selection of educational materials available for download. (St. Augustine)
Conner’s A-Maize-Ing Acres is a 5th & 6th generation working family farm located in Hilliard, Florida. The farm is home to over 100 farm animals, and they grow crops in the ground and hydroponically. In the fall, they open their farm for field trips, groups, and the general public to enjoy a day on the farm. In the spring/summer they invite schools, home schools, groups and the general public by appointment only, to visit their farm and learn about farm animals and fresh farm produce. (Hilliard)
Everglades National Park is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States and boasts rare and endangered species. It has been designated a World Heritage Site, International Biosphere Reserve, and Wetland of International Importance, significant to all people of the world. There are many different experiences that a visitor can have at Everglades National Park. Whether you are coming for a few hours or a week and want a nice walk and picnic or more of a wilderness experience, you can find it all here. (Homestead)
The Florida Air Museum, Florida’s Official Aviation Museum and Education Center located in Lakeland, displays a rich variety of aircraft and artifacts covering the history and significance of the first 100 years of flight. The Museum features a dynamic display of the best examples aviation has to offer with more than fifty aircraft on display, including one-of-a-kind designs, classics, ultralights, antiques and warbirds. (Lakeland)
The Florida Supreme Court offers educational programs to student groups in grades 4–12 and to citizen groups of all ages. The Mock Oral Argument and the Educational Tour are both exciting experiences. Each depends on the size of the group and the amount of time that can be spent at the courthouse. If you are interested in a self-guided tour, just drop in when the Court building is open. Tours can include the upper and lower rotunda areas, the courtroom, Library and its Rare Book room, portrait gallery and lawyer's lounge. Oral arguments are held monthly, so if you are interested in watching one, check their schedule for dates and times and plan your visit accordingly. (Tallahassee)
Gamble Plantation Historic State Park was home to Major Robert Gamble and headquarters of an extensive sugar plantation. It is the only surviving plantation house in South Florida. It is believed that Confederate Secretary of State, Judah P. Benjamin, took refuge here after the fall of the Confederacy, until his safe passage to England could be secured. In 1925, the house and 16 acres were saved by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and donated to the state. Today, the mansion is furnished in the style of a successful mid-19th century plantation. (Ellenton)
Education is central to the Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida’s mission. Curriculum-based school tours and related hands-on activities offer students an opportunity to learn local and state history. Programs are available to home schoolers as well as public and private institutions. Please contact us at (850) 678-2615 to request a tour. (Valparaiso)
