The Florida Museum of Natural History - Orlando / Florida Guide

The bulk of the museum is artefacts and collections from Florida and The Caribbean but there are exhibits from all over the World. They also cover the archaeology of Florida, Latin America and The Caribbean.
The main attraction is The Butterfly Rainforest for which there is a charge. If you have been to the rainforest in London Zoo you will have an idea of what you can expect.

Although not on the same scale as Regents Park Zoo this has good tropical planting and waterfalls and as you walk round, the butterflies will be flying freely and you will also see birds, turtles and fish.
There is a $10 per person fee levied to enter the Rainforest unless you are a senior in which case the charge is $9 or a child for whom $6 is charged. There child rate is rather generous as it extends to the age of 17.

So what else is there to see?

Well, there is the Fishing Heritage exhibit which covers thousands of years of fishing around Floridas bounteous coastline.

Then there is an underwater tank walk and a Mangrove Boardwalk. The boardwalk has a complete experience of the flora and fauna that is so important to this particular part of the Florida fragile eco system.

I have always had a deep interest in the Native American way of life; must be all those saturday morning pictures.

Since this is Florida, these resourceful people are well represented, particularly the Calusa Indians.
Visiting the Calusa leaders home is memorable and you are treated to a traditional Calusa ceremony.
There is also a display of Seminole and Miccosukee artefacts. Both these groups played a large part in the timeline of Florida.

The Native American Gallery features artefacts dating back thousands of years. We must thank their habit of building rubbish dumps (known as mounds) for the preservation of so much of the history of the Native American.

I do hope you take time to visit this charming museum. You can visit some areas free of charge and there is an ever changing display of temporary exhibits.

Gainsevilleis about a 2 hour drive from your holida villa so I suggest you may like to have anight away and explore more of this city.