Florida Museum of Natural History, Florida, United States
4.5 (999 reviews) Thursday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Spent 2-3 hours Ranking #3 in Gainesville Natural History Museums
Great History Lessons & Fun
**The Florida Museum is open to the public. To ensure a safe environment for all visitors, the Museum has limited entry and masks are recommended.** Open to the public continuously since January 1998, Powell Hall houses exhibits and public education programs. It is located between the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art and the Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in the UF Cultural Plaza at 3215 Hull Road, just east of Southwest 34th Street on the western edge of the University of Florida campus. Visitors to Powell Hall will encounter exciting featured exhibits and signature permanent exhibition halls that explore the state’s unique habitats and rich cultural history, including information about some of Florida's early Native peoples. Visitors may view a Calusa Indian welcoming ceremony and mammoth and mastodon skeletons from the last ice age.
Address
3215 Hull Road, Gainesville, FL 32611
Mobile
Website
http://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu
Working hours
Monday : 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday : 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday : 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday : 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday : 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday : 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday : 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Current local date and time now
Thursday, May 09, 2024, 12:55
User Ratings
4.5 based on (999 reviews)
Reviews
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4MrMiamiExplorer 5:00 PM Jan 8, 2021
Amazing Exhibits
I had wanted to visit this location for a long time, and now finally as we were staying in Ocala, we made the trip. I was very pleased on arrival to see that a maskless group that tried to barge in were turned away by security and had to return with face coverings. Unfortunately once inside the museum on more than once occasion there were children without masks running around that had somehow slipped in without them or taken them off without consequence, which we had to avoid. The exhibits were amazing, especially the early mammal fossils, insects, and Native American displays. My main complaints are as follows: There should have been a limit on the amount of people allowed in at a time, as the exhibit galleries were terribly crowded/packed with no social distancing. We visited the gift shop at the end and were shocked by the extremely high prices for this "non profit" I like to pick up souvenir hats from locations I visit, but a plain khaki hat which just a small museum logo on it was $16.00!, more than double the price at other attractions. After browsing for a while, we found nothing with a reasonable price and left without spending a cent, which was a shame as they could make so much more money for the museum if they did not overcharge for souvenirs. I would still return.
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5KMW-FL 5:00 PM Jul 14, 2022
Great History Lessons & Fun
The Florida Museum of Natural History is a great place to explore. There is so much to see, read, and absorb. My husband and I spent over 4 hours and probably could have stayed longer. The featured fossil exhibit was quite interesting and we got to talk with a worker (Ken Marks) who explained the procedure for excavating fossils and how they process them once they are in the lab. The museum itself is free (with donations ) but the featured fossil exhibit and Butterfly area tickets were required. You don't want to miss anything so I suggest you purchase tickets to those areas. They have an exhibit hall dedicated to FL fossils which showed the evolution of the state. Take the time, take the family, take in FL history. It's worth it!
