The Miami Museum of Science and Space Transit Planetarium has made exploring science a fun activity, by delicately and creatively embossing museum fun with scientific projects and demonstrations. Older children in their early or late teens desperately need a reawakening today to embrace science as the driving force that will firmly root America in the information age and beyond. The efforts directed towards this noble mandate have received a boost through the Miami Museum of Science.
The Miami Science Museum is sometimes called the Miami Science Museum and Space Transit Planetarium, since the museum incorporates a state-of-the-art Space-Transit Planetarium besides a Weintraub Observatory. The majestic museum that stands so impressive today has gradually grown in stature primarily due to popularity. Actually, the Museum started out as ‘The Junior Museum of Miami’, which was a private non-profit making organization. Then it used to be inside a house at the junction of Biscayne Boulevard and 26th Street Miami.
Miami Museum of Science
Again, the museum outgrew the new home due to popularity and a special programs committee chaired by Claire Weintraub recommended the establishment of a Miami independent science museum. In 1960, the present science museum was inaugurated at the 3-acre Vizcaya complex, built and furnished by the County for free. 1966 saw the additional construction of the Space Transit Planetarium, which today ranks as a global leader in facilities of its kind. This is the home of Star Gazer and other contemporary international TV programming.
Presently, the museum management is working on modalities to transplant the entire museum from its present location to downtown Miami, specifically to Park West at the Bicentennial Park. Here, the science museum will seat alongside the Miami Art Museum. With a yearly operating budget of $2.5 million, the museum currently offers 48,000 square feet. The Museum’s 99-year lease agreement was however renewed by the county in 1989, and the museum can remain at Vizcaya complex. The growing popularity of the Miami Museum of Science is pressing for additional space.
In the museum, young students can explore hands-on exhibits that have far-reaching significance in the current science syllabus in America and across the world today. To complement the hands-on exhibits displayed strategically along the galleries, the museum also hosts regular special exhibits for temporary durations and with specific themes. Such special exhibits in the recent past have featured the Titanic and Chinese dinosaurs. Alongside these exhibits, there are numerous educative shows in the planetarium, which are scheduled for a leisurely engagement across the day. This ensures that the youth can have fun at the Miami Museum of Science while still getting a boost in both their scientific understanding and positive attitude towards scientific prowess.
Established in 1949, the Miami Museum of Science also features a unique wildlife center, though placed outdoors. In the center, there are displays of snakes, turtles, reptiles, and numerous birds of prey like the owls, hawks and bald eagles. Most of these animals have been injured in the wild and cannot therefore cater for themselves if let loose.
The museum can be found at 3280 South Miami Avenue, Miami and opens daily as from 10AM to 6PM. Adults pay $20 per entrance while children are only charged $13 per entrance. All the kids under the age of two can enter free of charge. These are however the normal prices, since the charges usually hike during special shows and exhibitions. For instance, during the laser light shows that are held on the night of each first Friday of every month, there is an additional charge of $4 for children and $7 for adults. The alternative to paying charges per entrance is getting an annual family membership of $60, which is a grand idea for families who want to make return visits to the Miami Museum of Science.