2 Best Sights in The Tampa Bay Area, Florida

At this natural and cultural history museum, an aquarium focuses on manatee rehabilitation, and a first-floor gallery features fossils that tell the story of prehistoric Florida. Explore rotating exhibits on various topics; glass cases and roll-out drawers on the second floor showcase items normally out of public view. Topics covered in programs at the Bishop Planetarium (with a domed theater screen) range from black holes to the origin of life itself.

At this state-of-the-art facility near the University of South Florida's main campus, you learn about weather, anatomy, flight, space, and more by seeing and by doing. Get creative in MOSI’s hands-on maker space IDEAZone, an interactive area with self-guided science activities for all ages, teaching visitors to use cutting-edge technology, including 3D printers. The Flight Club Drone Zone, designed for both experienced pilots and those who have never flown a drone before, lets guests race through obstacle courses, navigate virtual landscapes, and explore the latest drone technology. Meanwhile, the 36-foot-high multilevel Sky Trail Rope Course is an exciting, adrenaline-pumping experience for guests of all ages, and the outdoor LIVECycles Butterfly Garden features native live plants and several species of butterflies at all stages of their life.The virtual-reality simulator lets you experience everything from spacewalks to run-ins with prehistoric creatures, and the newly rebuilt Saunders Planetarium is the second-largest planetarium in America with its massive 330-seat Digital Dome Theatre and has daily shows featuring astronomy experts.