Florida Aquarium

   This is a pretty cool aquarium with large tanks and a huge variety of fish and other water creatures. It’s half price with the pass rather than free. Go early so that you don’t miss the shows. It also has a large play area for small children.

  It’s very accessible. Take the elevator to the second floor and follow the signs. The path winds slowly downhill through the exhibits until you end up back where you started.

  The museum is located by the cruise ship terminal – follow signs for parking. It’s confusing but it gets you there. Parking is $6.00 for cars , $10.00 for RVs. Follow the sidewalk to the aquarium entrance. Aquarium
27.94459, -82.44569

Tampa Museum of Art

   This museum is much smaller than it looks with about six rooms of artwork.The collection ranges from Greek and Roman ceramic vases to modern photorealistic paintings. It’s all accessible but one section with a few sculptures is out on a balcony, accessed by a revolving door that is too small for wheelchairs. The guards will open standard doors to allow entry.

  There’s a parking garage but if you take your RV, visit on the weekend and park in the public lot across the street - $5.00 for one space.

  The museum entrance is a little hard to find because there aren’t any signs on the street and it sits back behind the children’s museum. From the parking lot –cross the street (good curb cuts and one set of street car tracks, level with the pavement ) and go south until you see the park, enter the park and go past the children's museum to the art museum.  Museum of Art
27.94942, -82.46261

Tampa Bay History Center

  This museum gives a quick history of Tampa, with the most focus on the Seminole Indians, Ybor City and Florida cowboys. It’s only two years old and very state of the art.

  Most of it is accessible starting with push button doors and a low ticket counter. There’s a small theater in the Seminole Indian exhibit with wheelchair seating at the ends of the first row so viewing isn’t the best. The Ybor City section has a few exhibits with push buttons that are hard to reach.

  Parking is very close at the St. Pete Times Forum East Lot but they do not allow oversized vehicles. We parked in a lot a few blocks northwest on the corner of S. Florida Ave. and E. Brorein St. ($7.00).  History Center
27.94247, -82.4499

Museum of Science and Industry ,Tampa

  We haven’t been going to science museums in Florida because most of them are geared towards young children but this one has two floors of exhibits aimed at middle schoolers and teenagers so there’s plenty to hold an adult’s attention.  The  main exhibits are “The Amazing You” about human development from conception to death and Disasterville about natural disasters.

  Follow the signs to the parking lot and go to the farther lot where the buses park. There’s a lot of room for RVs. It looks like you’re driving into a garage but you’re actually just passing under part of the buildings. It’s a bit of a trek to the entrance doors. The doors have push buttons and the ticket counters are low. Almost all of the exhibits are accessible and most of the interactive ones have lightweight, movable chairs.  Science Museum
28.0535, -82.40411 

The Florida Air Museum

  Most of the planes in this small museum are one of a kind or built from kits. They’ve all been beautifully restored.

  Parking is in a grassy lot with room for RVs. The entrance door is a bit heavy but the museum is all accessible. There’s also an annex,located about 1000’ away,with more planes including a homebuilt boat /plane. The road to the annex slopes slightly downhill and there’s a small lip into the building.  Air Museum
27.98219, -82.02984

Harry P. Leu Gardens

   These gardens feature huge live oaks draped with Spanish moss and a large variety of tropical plants. The main flowering plants are roses, camellias and azaleas. The house and garden property surrounding it were deeded to the city in 1961 by the last owners  Mr and Mrs Leu.

  Almost all of it is accessible. The doors to the welcome center have push buttons , the ticket desk is low,  and the paths are smooth concrete. The bottom floor of the house is accessible but motorized chairs aren’t permitted. There are some slight hills on the paths and also some edges of the concrete slabs have pushed up.

  RVs can be parked in the lot sideways across the spaces.   Lue Gardens
28.56722, -81.35721

Titanic The Experience

   Free ebook from Gutenberg - Sinking of the Titanic

  The museum has a full scale model of one level of the Titanic staircase, part of a stateroom and the dining room, many artifacts from the Titanic’s sister ship, the Olympic, and small pieces of the Titanic itself. A tour guide dressed in period clothing takes visitors through most of the exhibits and gives short historical talks in each room,which include the engine room, the bridge, cargo hold and hallways.

  Everything is accessible. There’s a large parking lot for RVs behind the building.

  Neither of us thought that this museum was worth the full price ($23.00) so use your Entertainment coupon. I liked it more than Tony did but we both agree that we’ve seen better Titanic exhibits at other museums.
Titanic Experience
28.45514, -81.47155

Orange County Regional History Center

  This museum is completely accessible from  push button entrance doors  to easy viewing of all of the exhibit signs. It presents the history of the Orlando area starting with the early Indian tribes and finishing with Disney World and the changes that came about because of the park’s popularity.

  We always try to visit museums that are located in cities on the weekend so that we have an easier time finding a parking space. Parking on the street is metered, 2 hours only. We parked in a lot on the corner of West Central Blvd. and South Garland Ave., about four blocks west of the museum. Parking fees are $1.00 an hour. It’s large enough for RVs but you’ll have to pay for two spaces.The sidewalk is in good condition however some of the curb cuts are a little steep and there’s a railroad track, flush with the sidewalk, to cross.  Orange County Museum
28.54249, -81.37796

Orlando’s Arts District

  Four museums and two theaters are clustered around Loch Haven Park. There are several parking lots large enough for RVs. Do not try to park at the Mennello Museum. The lot is very small with only one entrance/exit and no room to turn around.

We visited the Mennello and the Orlando Museum of Art. Neither are very large so it takes just an hour or two to see both.

  The Mennello has a permanent exhibit of paintings by Florida folk artist Earl Cunningham and special exhibits of artwork by other American artists.  Mennello Museum

  The Orlando Museum of Art has a good ,very diverse collection of contemporary American and African art. Most artwork is gathered in the galleries under themes  rather than specific artist , medium or style so a gallery may have paintings ,sculptures and photographs. There are some minor accessibility problems. The front desk where you buy tickets is very high.It’s actually too high for short people so people in wheelchairs are invisible. The lighting on a few of the paintings causes so much glare that it’s hard to view them. The description labels in Ancient Americas Collection and the Caballo Volador Project have been positioned flat on the display cases, at eye level, making them very hard to see and read.   Orlando Museum of Art

  The other museums are a fire museum and a science museum which we didn’t visit. They are all accessible by sidewalks from any of the parking lots in the park.
28.57272, -81.36513

     
     

More Maps

Moss Park Campground ( Moss Park ) is so nice that we decided to come back and hang out for a few days. I’ve been working on more maps for the states that we’ll be visiting after we leave Florida. Check them out here -  Alabama  Louisiana Mississippi Texas  or at the Google map link on the right.

The maps have all of the attractions that are free or discounted with a pass just like the Florida map plus some other attractions that we might want to see. I still have to add campgrounds

You can download the maps and personalize them to suit your interests and travel route. Just sign up for a Google account then when you click on any of the map links you'll  also be able to click on "Save to My Maps". Once the map is in your maps you can personalize them by editing,deleting ,commenting or adding other attractions.