South Florida People and Environments Exhibit

Stroll through the 6,050-square foot exhibit about the rich history of south Florida’s people and their environments from past and present times.

Mangrove Boardwalk in South Florida exhibit
Stroll through a full-scale mangrove forest and mud flat full of plants, animals, light and sound to explore the nature of these rich coastal ecosystems.

This permanent exhibit is free and open to the public year-round. The exhibit opened to the public on October 5, 2002 and was conceptualized and designed by Director of Exhibits and Public Programming Darcie MacMahon and Curator Emeritus William Marquardt with contributions and assistance from countless others including the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The exhibit highlights Florida’s diverse cultural heritage and resource-rich environments.

Explore the full-scale mangrove forest and mud flat full of plants, animals, light and sound to explore the nature of these rich coastal ecosystems.

100 Years Exhibit

In 2017, the Florida Museum of Natural History marked its 100th anniversary as the state’s official natural history museum. As part of the centennial celebration, the Florida Museum created an extraordinary exhibit exploring the key role museum collections play in telling the story of life on Earth.

Rare, Beautiful & Fascinating: 100 Years @FloridaMuseum celebrated the Museum’s rich history and featured objects that reveal stories about everything from human health to prehistoric life to invasive species. Each museum collection was asked to contribute its most interesting items and share the stories that make them special.

Though the physical exhibit is closed, the companion website remains online, providing an opportunity to experience the Florida Museum’s most treasured specimens. View the South Florida Archaeology collections in this online exhibit.

Water Shapes Florida

The Florida Museum officially opened the Water Shapes Florida Exhibit in April 2024.

Dive in and explore Florida’s most valuable resource: water. This engaging exhibit tells the story of the state’s fresh water, from the aquifers underground to the rivers and lakes to the clouds in the sky. Enter a magical glass-bottom-boat theater, and ride, dive and fly through some of the Sunshine State’s most famous springs in a one-of-a-kind immersive experience.