TAMPA, Fla.—From stunning glass work to music memorabilia, there's a museum for everybody in Tampa Bay. Here are 7 spots you need to add to your to do list.
1. Fairgrounds St. Pete
Location: 800 28th St S, St. Petersburg
Open: Thursday - Sunday
Cost: $27
Info: This immersive art museum focuses on engaging all of the senses. It’s set up like a motel with several different rooms, but it’s unlike any place you’ve ever stayed. Over 60 local and international artists were commissioned to make art for this museum!
2. Imagine Museum
Location: 1901 Central Ave, St. Petersburg
Open: Tuesday - Sunday
Cost: $15 for adults | $10 for kids and students | FREE for kids ages 6 and under
Info: Known for its incredible detail and creative visuals, the Imagine Museum in St. Pete showcases some of the best studio glass art. Experience the extraordinary collection of studio glass, rotating exhibitions, and a growing collection of premiere International Studio Glass not seen anywhere else on the Gulf Coast. Tickets are only $7.50 for Tampa Bay residents this summer.
3. Chihuly Collection (Morean Arts Center)
Location: 720 Central Ave St. Petersburg
Open: Daily
Cost: $20 for adults | $14 for students ages 6-18 | FREE for kids ages 5 and under
Info: This is the largest permanent collection of Dale Chihuly’s glass artwork nationwide. See colorful glass transformed into beautiful sculptures and structures. This collection is just one piece of the Morean Arts Center, which has been a part of St. Pete for more than 100 years.
4. Penny Lane Beatles Museum
Location: 730 Broadway 2nd Floor, Dunedin
Open: Thursday - Sunday
Cost: FREE
Info: One of the largest Beatles collections in the United States is right here in Downtown Dunedin! Explore an array of memorabilia—posters, signed guitars, Ringo's drumsticks, John Lennon's glasses, pieces of hair, swatches of hotel sheets the Beatles slept on—all while listening to classic Beatles hits. The collection was started by a Dunedin local who has been collecting Beatles items for the past 40 years—now the museum is almost up to 1,000 pieces of memorabilia!
RELATED | 4 Hidden Gem Museums in Tampa Bay
5. The American Victory
Location: 705 Channelside Dr, Tampa
Open: Daily
Cost: $12 for adults | $14 for kids ages 4-12 | $10 for military personnel, seniors and students
Info: The American Victory is one of only four fully-operational WWII ships in the country. It was built in 1945 then brought to Tampa in 1999 to be converted into a memorial and mariners museum. Explore the ship on your own or sign up for a docent-guided tour.
6. The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
Location: 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota
Open: Daily
Cost: $25 for adults | $5 for kids ages 6-17 | FREE for kids ages 5 and under
Info: The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota is home to one of the preeminent art and cultural collections in the United States. The Ringling serves as the legacy of John and Mable Ringling—a place of art, architecture, and circus in an environment that inspires, educates, and entertains.
7. Dark Matter Exhibit (Creative Pinellas)
Location: 12211 Walsingham Rd, Largo
Open: Wednesday - Sunday until October 16
Cost: FREE
Info: This limited-time exhibition by artist Jason Hackenwerth will take viewers on an awe-inspiring journey through turbulence and drama to transcendence and joy. Two massive sculptures made of latex balloons will anchor the show in the main gallery and will be accompanied by huge paintings and more than 50 drawings and images of Hackenwerth’s exhibitions from the past 20 years.
