ART
THE ARTS CENTER, 719 Central Ave., St. Petersburg (727-822-7872). With five separate galleries, The Arts Center boasts a wide range of art by locally, nationally and internationally known artists. Currently on display: X-ing, Project Creo's first exhibition dedicated exclusively to the work of video artistry, through May 26; and Renee Stout: The Church of the Crossroads, a mid-career retrospective exhibit of Stout's mixed-media paintings and installations, which deal with African, Haitian, Voodoo and Christian spirituality and symbolism, through May 28. Upcoming exhibits include Gary Chapman: Chiaroscuro, Babs Reingold: Fall Out — Beauty Lost & Found, Jennifer McNeeley: "…and another thing!", Melissa Gwyn: Excess, Family Values Portrait Exhibition, June 9-July 8; and Ephemera: 2006 Members' Exhibition and Project Creo: Ephemera, July 21-Aug. 19. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., noon-4 p.m. Sun. Free admission. www.theartscenter.org.
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM, 244 Second Ave. N., SPC Downtown Center, St. Petersburg (727-341-7900). The museum's largest permanent installation is Cuban Missile Crisis, a 10,000-square-foot display highlighting the tense events of October 1962. A parade of traveling exhibits pass through the museum on a regular basis as well. Ink and Blood: Sacred Treasures of the Bible includes authentic fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient Biblical manuscripts, several 5,000-year-old pictographic clay tablets from ancient Mesopotamia, and a working replica of Gutenberg's printing press. Upcoming exhibits: Objects Of Desire: Jeweled Treasures from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and From the Vaults of the Florida Smithsonian Affiliates, May 25-Sept. 30. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun. Admission is $10 adults, $8 seniors and military, $7 students, and free for ages 6 and younger (special exhibits cost more). www.floridamuseum.org.
GULF COAST MUSEUM OF ART, 12211 Walsingham Road, Largo (727-518-6833). Currently, GCMA exhibits Will Boys Be Boys?: Questioning Adolescent Masculinity in Contemporary Art, in which 19 artists examine adolescent masculinity in art from the past five years with paintings, photographs, sculptures, installation pieces and video works, May 13-July 2. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tues.-Sat., noon-4 p.m. Sun. Admission is $8 adults, $6 seniors, $5 students with valid I.D., and free for museum members and kids 9 and younger. www.gulfcoastmuseum.org.
LEEPA-RATTNER MUSEUM OF ART, SPC-Tarpon Springs Campus, 600 Klosterman Road, Palm Harbor (727-712-5762). Much of the museum's permanent collection includes works by figurative expressionist Abraham Rattner (1893-1978) and his stepson, Allen Leepa (b. 1919). LRMA currently hosts Richard Florsheim: An Art Legacy and Drawn from Life: Works on Paper from the August L. & L. Tommie Freundlich Trust, through June 1. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. (until 9 p.m. on Thurs.), 1-5 p.m. Sun. Admission is $5 adults, $4 seniors, and free for children and students. www.spjc.edu/central/museum.
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, 255 Beach Drive N.E., St. Petersburg (727-896-2667). MFA's impressive permanent collection contains approximately 4,000 works; artists represented include Cézanne, Monet, Renoir, O'Keeffe, Rauschenberg, Lichtenstein, Avedon and Adams. Current exhibits: Archipenko 2030: Prints & Sculpture, an exhibition featuring two portfolios of prints and a number of sculptures by modern artist Alexander Archipenko, May 13-July 23; Picasso: Passionate Printmaker, a showing of Picasso's circus figures from his early days in Paris, through June 11; A Complex Eden: Photographs of the American West, which includes a series of 19th-century landscapes exploring the territory beyond the Missouri River, through Aug. 6; and Keris Invincible: Sword Handles from Indonesia, through Sept. 10. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. Admission is $8 adults, $7 seniors, $4 students with I.D. and ages 7-18, and free to children 6 and younger. www.fine-arts.org.
RINGLING MUSEUM OF ART, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota (941-359-5700). If you're a local, you already know about it. If you're a tourist, you probably plan on seeing it. Here's what you can expect: in the permanent collection are works by Rubens, Poussin, Hals and others. More than 10,000 works are on display, as is Ca d'Zan, the winter residence of circus magnate John Ringling, and a work of art itself. Elsewhere on the grounds is the Circus Museum, which features costumes, a circus-in-miniature and the 1952 film The Greatest Show on Earth (filmed in Sarasota) running in a continuous loop. The Circus Museum's Tibbals Learning Center is also open, spotlighting Howard C. Tibbals' enormous miniature circus. Currently on display is Encore! The Art of the Historic Asolo Theater, through June 22. Upcoming exhibition: The Early Modern Painter-Etcher, which examines the etched work of artists primarily known as painters throughout Europe during the Early Modern period (15th-18th centuries), July 1-Aug. 20. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily. Admission is $15 adults, $13 seniors 65 and up, $5 children ages 6-17, students and teachers with valid I.D., and free for members. www.ringling.org.
SALVADOR DALI MUSEUM, 1000 Third St. S., St. Petersburg (727-823-3767). The most comprehensive collection of Salvador Dalí's works in the world, the museum holds several key masterworks that wear you out just looking at them. Visitors also get an excellent overview of Dalí's major themes, symbols, influences and inspirations. Examples of cubism, surrealism, constructivism and geometric abstraction by artists like Picasso, Dalí, Joan Miró and Julio Gonzales are featured in Salvador Dalí and a Century of Art from Spain: Picasso to Plensa, through July 30. Dalí Illustrates Wagner's 'Tristan and Isolde' includes the 1970 series of 21 engravings created by Dalí that illustrate Wagner's famous opera, through Jan. 14. Other exhibitions: Dali by the Decades: Dalí's Surreal Century and Dalí Zodiac, both on display Aug. 4-Jan. 29. 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Wed. and Sat., 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri., noon-5:30 p.m. Sun. Admission is $14 adults, $12 seniors, military and police, $9 students, $3.50 children 5-9, free admission for children 4 and younger; reduced admission Fridays after 5 p.m. July-August. www.salvadordalimusuem.org.
TAMPA GALLERY OF PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS, 1628 W. Snow Circle, Old Hyde Park Village (813-251-1800). The nonprofit photography museum exhibits A Harlem Document (1932-1940), which includes 60 black-and-white images by noteworthy American photographer, Aaron Siskind (May 19-June 30). Upcoming: Children's Show, July 7-21; and the Sixth Annual Member's Exhibition (July 28-Aug. 27). 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Wed. and Fri.-Sat., 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Thurs., noon-5 p.m. Sun. Free admission (donations welcome). www.tgpa.org.
TAMPA MUSEUM OF ART, 600 N. Ashley Drive, Tampa (813-274-8130). The museum's major ongoing exhibit, The Classical World, is an installation of more than 400 Greek and Roman antiquities, mostly drawn from the museum's permanent collection. Other exhibits include Keith Haring: Art & Commerce, A Tribute to the Pop Shop, which showcases more than 100 works on paper, Pop Shop artifacts and other ephemera produced by pop culture artist Keith Haring, through June 11; underCURRENT/overVIEW 8, the museum's biennial contemporary juried exhibition, through July 9. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. Admission is $8 adults, $6 seniors and military, $3 for students and kids over 6, free for children 6 and younger, and free admission for all 10 a.m.-noon every Saturday. www.tampamuseum.com.
USF CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM, located on West Holly Drive at USF-Tampa, 4202 E. Fowler Ave. (813-974-2849). USF CAM maintains the university's art collection, featuring more than 3,600 works by artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg and James Rosenquist, all of whom have worked in USF's Graphicstudio. CAM currently showcases the talents of 43 students in the 30th Annual Juried USF Student Art Exhibition, through May 26. Upcoming: Vik Muniz: Reflex, a display of 100 mixed-media images produced by the Brazilian from 1988 to the present, July 7-Oct. 7. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. and 1-4 p.m. Sat. Free admission. www.usfcam.usf.edu.
HISTORICAL
THE DUNEDIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM, 349 Main St., Dunedin (727-736-1176). Operated by the Dunedin Historical Society, the museum contains approximately 2,000 artifacts, 2,500 photographs and a library containing 200 volumes of local and Florida History. Programs include the Dunedin Cemetery's History Comes Alive interactive exhibit, in which actors portray long-gone locals to tell tales of the area's pioneering families and industries. The society also sponsors the Pinellas Vintage Base Ball League, where players don reproductions of authentic equipment and uniforms, and play by 1890s rules. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Admission is a suggested donation of $2. dunedinmuseum.org.
FLORIDA AIR MUSEUM, Sun 'n Fun Fly-In, 4175 Medulla Road, Lakeland (863-644-0741). This aviation museum and education center possesses a collection of historic aircrafts as well as aviation artifacts from around the world. Also on display are artifacts from the 1930s and '40s, in addition to documents from the estate of Howard Hughes. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat., and noon-4 p.m. Sun. Admission is $8 adults, $6 seniors (55-plus), $4 ages 8-12, and kids under 8 enter for free.
FLORIDA HOLOCAUST MUSEUM, 55 Fifth St. S., St. Petersburg (727-820-0100). The museum's permanent collection includes History, Heritage and Hope, an exhibit detailing the history of Holocaust victims and survivors. The museum currently hosts Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo, an exhibit of mixed-media drawings by Tom Feelings that tell the story of the importation of native Africans from their homes to a world of slavery, through May 30; Brotherhood in Suffering, an exhibit of artworks illustrating the horrors of life in concentration camps by Auschwitz survivor Jan Komski, through June 25; and Collective Memory: Art from the Permanent Collection, through June 27. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. and noon-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Admission is $8 adults, $7 seniors and students with I.D., and $4 ages 18 and younger. www.flholocaustmuseum.org.
GULF BEACHES HISTORICAL MUSEUM, 115 10th Ave., St. Pete Beach (727-552-1610). The museum offers a look back at the history of Pinellas County's barrier islands through news clippings, photographs and artifacts dating from the 1500s through today. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Fri.-Sat., and 1-4 p.m. Sun. Free admission (donations appreciated). www.pinellascounty.org/Heritage/beach.htm.
GULFPORT HISTORICAL MUSEUM, 5301 28th Ave. S., Gulfport (727-327-0505). This quaint museum reflects the history of Gulfport from 1867 to 1940. 2-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri. and 10 a.m.-noon Sat. Free admission (donations welcome). www.gulfporthistoricalmuseum.homestead.com.
HERITAGE VILLAGE, 11909 125th St. N., Largo (727-582-2123). This 21-acre, open-air park features 27 historical structures reflecting turn-of-the-century lifestyles of Pinellas pioneers. An archive library contains over 3,500 volumes, along with photos, maps and other materials. Docents in period costumes offer tours and demonstrate embroidery, basket making, quilting, weaving and more. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tues.-Sat., 1-4 p.m. Sun. Free admission (donations accepted). www.pinellascounty.org/heritage.
HENRY B. PLANT MUSEUM, located on the University of Tampa campus, 401 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa (813-254-1891). A National Historic Landmark, the museum's housed in what was once the luxurious Tampa Bay Hotel. Exhibits include original artworks from private collections, period sporting goods, clothes and décor. The museum also happens to house a permanent Spanish-American War exhibit and mementos from Teddy Roosevelt's frequent visits. Currently on display: Trivial Pursuits of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, which includes images and artifacts from the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, through Dec. 31. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tues.-Sat., and noon-4 p.m. Sun. Admission is a requested donation of $5 for adults and $2 for children under 12. www.plantmuseum.com.
SAFETY HARBOR MUSEUM OF REGIONAL HISTORY, 329 Bayshore Blvd. S., Safety Harbor (727-726-1668). The museum's exhibits show the history of Safety Harbor and the surrounding Tampa Bay area from prehistoric to modern times. Descriptive dioramas and displays of fossils, projectile points, shell tools, beads and pottery tell the story of Florida's first people and the arrival of Spanish explorers in the 16th century. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tues.-Fri., 1-4 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Admission is $3 adults, $2 seniors and youths, and free for children under 12. www.safety-harbor-museum.org.
ST. PETERSBURG MUSEUM OF HISTORY, 335 Second Ave. N.E. (on The Pier approach), St. Petersburg (727-894-1052). Vision traces the history of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County from prehistoric times to today with creative displays and hundreds of historic photos and objects, like a dugout canoe recovered from Crescent Lake in St. Petersburg. Other highlights include the World's First Airline exhibit, a gallery devoted to St. Pete neighborhoods and much more. On display through May 31: Florida's Got the Blues, an exhibit featuring the artifacts of Diamond Teeth Mary and numerous other Florida blues artists who've gained national acclaim. Noon-7 p.m. Mon., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun. Admission is $7 adults, $5 seniors and students, $3 ages 7-17, and free for kids 6 and younger. www.stpetemuseumofhistory.org.
TAMPA BAY HISTORY CENTER, Tampa Convention Center Annex, 225 S. Franklin St., Tampa (813-228-0097). The center houses a collection of artifacts, books, maps and more on Tampa Bay history. Guests can learn about the Bay area's natural environment, Seminole Indians, European exploration, the cracker cattle trade and military history. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Free admission (donations welcome). www.tampabayhistorycenter.org.
VETERANS MEMORIAL MUSEUM AND PARK, 3602 U.S. 301 N., at the Tampa Bypass Canal, Tampa (813-744-5502). This tribute to America's fighting men and women offers a walk through military history, starting in the 1500s and going through Desert Storm. Museum hours: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Park hours: 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily. Free admission (donations welcome).
YBOR CITY STATE MUSEUM, 1818 Ninth Ave., Ybor City (813-247-6323). The museum honors the history of Ybor City's founders, workers and culture via photographs and artifacts from 1886 through today. The complex includes canones (cannons) exemplary of the shotgun houses in which many cigar factory workers lived, a garden and the Ferlita Bakery (listed on the National Register of Historic Places). 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Admission is $3 for adults and free for children 5 and younger. www.ybormuseum.org.
SCIENCE AND HANDS-ON
THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF TAMPA, 7550 N. Boulevard, Tampa (813-935-8441). The museum's Kid City is a miniature outdoor metropolis with streets, sidewalks, park benches, shade trees, picnic tables and 16, child-sized buildings representing the various businesses found in a typical city. Each building contains an assortment of exhibits and hands-on activities for children. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., and noon-5 p.m. Sun. Admission is $5 ages 1 and older; free entry to children 11 months and younger. www.flachildrensmuseum.com.
CLEARWATER MARINE AQUARIUM, 249 Windward Passage, Clearwater (727-441-1790). See estuary tanks containing dolphins, sea turtles, river otters, stingrays and fish, as well as a mangrove and sea grass exhibit. CMA also rescues and rehabilitates injured creatures. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat., and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sun. Admission is $9 adults, $6.50 ages 3-12. www.cmaquarium.org.
THE FLORIDA AQUARIUM, 701 Channelside Drive, Tampa (813-273-4000). This impressive downtown Tampa attraction focuses on Florida marine life and habitats. See indigenous sea creatures displayed in more than a million gallons of fresh and saltwater, an invasive species exhibit, limestone caverns, underground aquifer, beaches and marshlands, hands-on shark and ray exhibits, and more. 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Admission is $17.95 adults, $14.95 seniors, and $12.95 ages 11 and younger (kids 2 and under enter for free). www.flaquarium.net.
GREAT EXPLORATIONS: THE HANDS-ON MUSEUM, at Sunken Gardens, 1925 Fourth St. N., St. Petersburg (727-821-8992). This touchy-feely museum has interactive exhibits such as Laser Harp, a harp with diode lasers in place of strings that kids can play; and Pull Yourself Up, a system of pulleys on which kids can hoist themselves. The playroom is for kids 6 and younger. 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat., noon-4:30 p.m. Sun. Admission is $9 adults and children, $8 seniors. www.greatexplorations.org.
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & INDUSTRY (MOSI), 4801 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa (813-987-6300). The not-for-profit educational science center is the largest in the Southeastern United States. Museum highlights include two replica diplodocus dinosaur skeletons; the Saunders Planetarium; BioWorks Butterfly Garden, an engineered ecosystem that emulates natural wetlands; the Back Woods, 40 acres of special water conservation elements and outdoor exhibits; the IMAX Dome Theatre and its 82-foot hemispherical movie screen; and Kids In Charge! The Children's Science Center, which was created from theories about intergenerational play, learning and skill building. Current exhibit: Bodies: The Exhibition, a display of 20 cadavers in various states of dissection that are protected from decay via a process known as polymer preservation, in which the body's fat and fluids are replaced with polymers like silicone rubber, epoxy and polyester, through Sept. 4. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., and 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat.-Sun.; special reduced-rate after dark hours occur 5-9 p.m. Mon.-Fri., and 7-9 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Admission: $19.95 adults, $17.95 seniors, $15.95 ages 2-12 (includes a standard length IMAX film; after hours rage $14.95 adults, $13.95 seniors, $12.95 children). www.mosi.org.
THE PIER AQUARIUM, 800 Second Ave. N.E., St. Petersburg (727-895-7437). Giant vertical tubes — bubbling with fish and other sea life — lead from the lobby of The Pier up to the second-floor aquarium. The tanks feature native and tropical fish, sharks and other creatures, while various displays focus on Florida's ecosystem. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Sat., and noon-6 p.m. Sun. Admission is $2 adults; children 12 and younger enter free (Sunday admission is free for all visitors). www.stpete-pier.com.
SCIENCE CENTER OF PINELLAS COUNTY, 7701 22nd Ave. N., St. Petersburg (727-384-0027). The Science Center features a Native-American village, 30-seat planetarium, the Carol Samuels Observatory, 600-gallon "touch tank," 12 classrooms/labs, White and Xeriscape gardens, and numerous exhibits, including Discoveries by African-American Scientists and Inventors. 1-4 p.m. Fridays, September-May (closed to the public June and July). Admission is $5. www.sciencecenterofpinellas.com.
ST. PETERSBURG COLLEGE PLANETARIUM AND OBSERVATORY, SPC-Gibbs Campus, 69th Street N. and Fifth Avenue, St. Petersburg (727-341-4320). The planetarium's shows are at 7 and 8:15 p.m. every Friday. The domed observatory on the roof of the Natural Science Building houses several telescopes and is open for viewing following the Friday evening shows, weather permitting. Free admission.
TARPON SPRINGS AQUARIUM, 850 Dodecanese Blvd., Tarpon Springs (727-938-5378). A 120,000-gallon reef tank houses more than 30 species of fish. There's also octopus, live coral, anemones and alligators. Featured diversions include a narrated shark-feeding show and a stingray petting tank. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun. Admission is $5.25 adults, $4.50 seniors, $3.25 ages 3-11, and free to children 2 and younger. www.tarponspringsaquarium.com.
This article appears in May 10-16, 2006.