Great Explorations, St. Petersburg, FL 33704

Great Explorations Children’s Museum is one of Florida’s top museums and one of America’s top museums for children. Co-founded in 1986 by the Junior League of St. Petersburg and Hands-On! Inc., Great Explorations Children’s Museum opened to an enthusiastic public on November 27, 1987, and has been serving children and families in the greater Tampa Bay area for a quarter of a century. In March 2003, the Museum relocated to its new 18,000 square foot facility located next to historic Sunken Gardens on 4th Street North in St. Petersburg. Recognized as one of Florida’s top museums and one of America’s top museums for children, Great Explorations is affiliated with the Association of Children’s Museums and is a member of the Association of Science and Technology Centers with reciprocal admissions to over 140 other museums across the United States. Interactive exhibits, a preschool, after school enrichment, camps, field trips, targeted outreach, workshops for parents and caregivers, as well as
leadership and volunteer opportunities for young adults connect the Museum to a broad audience. At Great Explorations we pride ourselves on providing quality children’s experiences for the families in our community. We evaluate ourselves on the quality of the experiences and our ability to introduce new and innovative ways for children to learn through creativity, play and exploration. In 2011 alone we opened several new exhibits including the Touch Tunnel: The New Generation which provides an immersive sight deprivation experience that heightens the senses of touch and hearing, the Express Yourself Art Studio which is filled with a variety of artistic stations where children experience hands-on creativity in the context of artistic expression, the Raymond James Great Explorations Theater where children perform and experience interactive shows, and the Critter Cave exhibit where kids explore a variety of interesting arachnids, reptiles and snakes and participate in interactive shows that accompany the
exhibition an annual basis, the Museum reaches over 220,000 visitors to the exhibits, and participants in traveling educational outreach programs. In addition, the Wonderful World of Oz traveling exhibit covers North America with rentals across the continental United States impacting children and families from all over the country. Great Explorations Children’s Museum, located next to historic Sunken Gardens on 4th Street North in St. Petersburg, is one of Florida’s top museums and one of America’s top museums for children. At Great Explorations, fun educational experiences make learning fun for visitors of all ages.
Visitor Play Policy: Every adult (18 & over) must be accompanied by at least one child, and every child (17 & younger) must be accompanied by at least one adult, except as noted for special programs.
The mission of Great Explorations Children’s Museum is to stimulate learning through creativity, play, and exploration