Sunshine State Standards
Northwest Florida: Waterways and Wildlife
This exhibit follows water as it flows through the unique environments of
northwest Florida, the
most biodiverse region of the state. The hardwood hammock features a life-sized limestone cave and is patterned
after the forest at Florida Caverns State Park during early spring. The pitcher plant bog showcases carnivorous
plants of the coastal plain, and the Native American trading scene highlights the river gallery. Visitors strolling along
the boardwalk of the coastal salt marsh also can see the Eastern monarchs on the barrier island beach. The butterflies
visit the northwest Florida coast to consume wildflower nectar before continuing their annual fall migration to Mexico.
Sunshine State Standards: Science
- Processes that Shape the Earth - Standard 1
- Processes of Life - Standards 1 & 2
- How Living Things Interact with Their Environment - Standards 1 & 2
- The Nature of Science - Standard 3
Sunshine State Standards: Social Studies
- Time, Continuity and Change - Standards 1 & 6
Sunshine State Standards: Geography
- People, Places and Environments - Standards 1 & 2
South Florida People and Environments
This award-winning exhibit celebrates South Florida and the people who have lived there for thousands
of years, including the Calusa, Miccosukee and Seminole Indians. Based extensively on the museum's archaeological
and ecological research, this exhibit features exciting new knowledge about the history of these peoples and the
environments that supported them. Visitors experience a full-scale mangrove forest, underwater scene, and a Calusa
leader's house. Also on display are more than 700 objects from the museum's collections, ranging from everyday
items such as Calusa shell tools and fishing gear to artistic masterpieces such as a thousand-year-old painting of
an ivory-billed woodpecker.
Sunshine State Standards: Science
- Processes that Shape the Earth - Standard 1
- Processes of Life - Standards 1 & 2
- How Living Things Interact with Their Environment - Standards 1 & 2
- The Nature of Science - Standard 3
Sunshine State Standards: Social Studies
- Time, Continuity and Change - Standards 1 & 6
Sunshine State Standards: Geography
- People, Places and Environments - Standards 1 & 2
Florida Fossils: Evolution of Life and Land
Drawing upon the museum's internationally acclaimed fossil collections, this award-winning exhibit
describes the last 65 million years of Florida's history. Walk through time beginning with the Eocene, when Florida
was underwater, through the Oligocene, Miocene, Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs when the first humans arrived
14,000
years ago. Florida's first land animals and the land bridge between North and South America that formed
about 3 million years ago provide an exciting environment to view the reconstructed specimens. See a 15-foot-tall
ground sloth and a two-foot-tall horse. More than 90 percent of the 500 fossils are real and many were found within
100 miles of Gainesville.
Sunshine State Standards: Science
- Processes that Shape the Earth - Standard 1
- Processes of Life - Standards 1 & 2
- How Living Things Interact with Their Environment - Standards 1 & 2
Butterfly Rainforest
Fee: $4/student, 1/10 chaperone free, additional chaperones $6.50/each
As part of The McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, the Butterfly Rainforest is dedicated to
research and education about butterflies, moths and global biodiversity.The Butterfly Rainforest is a four-story, outdoor
screened enclosure with waterfalls, a walking trail, lush subtropical and tropical plants and hundreds of live butterflies.
The indoor exhibits feature a spectacular "Wall of Wings" reaching nearly three stories high that contains thousands of
scanned and actual Lepidoptera specimens and information about butterfly and moth biology. Visitors also may look
into the collections and observe scientists working in laboratories, preparing specimens for the collection and rearing
new butterflies.
Sunshine State Standards: Science
- Processes that Shape the Earth - Standard 1
- Processes of Life - Standards 1 & 2
- How Living Things Interact with Their Environment - Standards 1 & 2
- The Nature of Science - Standard 3