This Saturday is Free Museum Day!

To coincide with an event created by the Smithsonian Institute, Saturday, September 29^th is Free Museum Day nationwide. Thousands of museums across the country are participating in the event and it should be a great time to get out there and learn a little something. To check if your local museum is participating, head to the Smithsonian website here: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/.

For Florida State University Students and Tallahassee residents, there are a few great museums in the area to check out if you want to have some fun and learn something new.

Our first stop is the Tallahassee Museum. Unlike most museums, the Tallahassee Museum is more than just a large air conditioned building with some nice display pieces on the inside. The Tallahassee Museum is well known for its beautiful outdoor exhibitions that showcase Florida’s natural habitat and wildlife. There are beautiful walking trails as well as a large amount of animal exhibits to see. Among the viewable animals are wolves, panthers, deer, otters, bobcats, foxes, and even bears. This is the closest Tallahassee has to a zoo and it’s a great way to see some of Florida’s natural wildlife. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, the Tallahassee Museum also features zip lines in their new, “Tree to Tree” exhibit. There are three zip line courses available and no prior experience is required to take a ride.

Photo by SteveNakatani via Flickr

Too hot to spend the day outside? Well, the Museum of Florida History may be just your thing. Focusing on the past, this museum should be particularly fascinating to anybody with even a passing interest in military history as there are exhibits on both the Civil War and World War II. Be sure to check out the museum’s 31^st Annual Capital City Quilt show, which is also going on during Free Museum Day.

Enjoying yourself and looking for some more museums to head to? It’s a bit of a drive, but the Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum in Carrabelle is also participating in Free Museum Day. This museum focuses on the amphibious soldiers of WWII and contains U.S., German, and Japanese artifacts. There’s also a theatre that plays WWII documentaries.

If you’re from Florida and would like to learn a little something about your heritage, head on over to the Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida in Valparaiso. With a focus on Native American and 19^th century culture, the museum has many artifacts and hands on activities for kids.

For information on any of these museums, including visiting hours, please visit their websites. If you’ve got some free time on Saturday and want to learn a little something, you can’t do better than free.