Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Marine Science Center
Kids
This marine museum has interior displays (with
exhibits on mangroves, mosquitoes, shells, artificial reefs, dune habitats, and pollution
solutions), a 5,000-gallon aquarium, and educational programs and activities. Though
the exhibit area is rather small, there's more than enough information for a child to digest
at one time. Perhaps the most interesting part of the center is the space reserved for the
rehabilitation of endangered and threatened sea turtles and seabirds. You can watch them
in any of seven turtle tanks—look for the ones that need life jackets to stay afloat!
100 Lighthouse Dr., Ponce Inlet.
&
386/304-5545.
www.marinesciencecenter.com. Admission $5 adults,
$4 seniors, $2 children 3-12, free for children 2 and under. Tues-Sat 10am-4pm; Sun noon-4pm. See
directions for Ponce de León Inlet Lighthouse & Museum (below).
Museum of Arts and Sciences
An exceptional institution for a town of Day-
tona's size and reputation (as culturally devoid beyond NASCAR), this hard-to-find
museum is best known for its Cuba: A History of Art exhibit, with paintings acquired in
1956, when Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista donated his private collection to the city.
Among them is a portrait of Eva (“Evita”) Perón, said to be the only existing painting
completed while she was alive (it hangs near the lobby, not within the Cuban exhibit).
The Dow Gallery displays American decorative arts, while the Bouchelle Study Center
for the Decorative Arts contains American and European jewelry, furniture, mirrors, and
more. Other rooms include the Schulte Gallery of Chinese Art; Africa: Life and Ritual,
with the largest collection of Ashante gold ornaments in the U.S. (these are stunning);
and the Center for Florida History, with the skeleton of a 13-foot-tall, 130,000-year-old
giant ground sloth. Check out the unique collection of the late Chapman S. Root, a
Daytona philanthropist and a founder of the Coca-Cola empire; among the memorabilia
are the mold for the original Coke bottle and the Root family's two private railroad cars.
The planetarium presents 30-minute shows of what the night sky will look like on the
date of your visit. New to the museum in 2009, the
Charles and Linda Williams Chil-
dren's Museum,
a world-class science center featuring over 9,000 square feet of hands-on
science activities. The museum is located on a 90-acre nature preserve that features over
1
/
2
-mile of boardwalk nature trails and learning stations. The museum displays new tem-
porary exhibits bi-monthly.
352 S. Nova Rd. (btw. International Speedway Blvd. and Bellevue Ave.).
&
386/255-0285.
www.moas.
org. Museum $13 adults, $11 seniors, $6.95 children and students with ID, free for children 5 and under.
Planetarium shows included with paid admission. Mon-Sat 9am-5pm; Sun 11am-5pm. Closed Thanks-
giving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. Take International Speedway Blvd. west, make a left on Nova
Rd. (Fla. 5A), and look for a sign on your right.
Ponce de León Inlet Lighthouse & Museum
This National Historic Land-
mark is well worth a stop even if you're not a lighthouse enthusiast. The 175-foot brick-
and-granite structure is the second-tallest lighthouse in the United States. Built in the
1880s, the lighthouse and the graceful Victorian brick buildings surrounding it have
been restored. There are no guided tours, but you can walk through the 12 areas, which
feature different exhibits (lighthouse lenses, historical artifacts, and a film of early car
racing on the nearby beach), and stroll around the tugboat
F. D. Russell,
now sitting high
and dry in the sand. Use common sense if you climb the 203 steps to the top of the
lighthouse; it's a grinding ascent, but the view from up there is spectacular.
4931 S. Peninsula Dr., Ponce Inlet.
&
386/761-1821.
www.ponceinlet.org. Admission $5 adults, $1.50
children 11 and under. Memorial Day to Labor Day daily 10am-9pm; rest of year daily 10am-5pm. Follow
Atlantic Ave. south, make a right on Beach St., and follow the signs.
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