LAKELAND, Fla. — Put on the iconic green vest, and role-play as a Publix associate in a make-believe city. Make a mini silent movie using a green screen. Design and fly a paper airplane on a fancy air table. Or jump up and down on a water bed disguised as a koi pond.
Those activities are just a small sampling of the fun kids can enjoy at the brand new Florida Children’s Museum in Lakeland. It officially opens to the general public Friday morning.
Thursday morning, during the museum’s soft opening, Amy Evans’ boys spent hours in the make-believe city.
Brooks put his skills to the test in an orange juice plant. Miles, her younger son, collected plastic eggs from a model chicken coop.
“It’s incredible,” Evans said. “It is more than what we could have imagined. It’s amazing that this is something here in Lakeland for us.”
The huge 47,800 square feet space has six main galleries loaded with interactive exhibits that give kids a taste of everything from agriculture to music, engineering to content creation.
Kerry Falwell is the CEO of the Florida Children’s Museum and said the space is intentionally designed to even make adults feel like children again.
“There’s something for birth to age 12 and from everyone who might be more introspective and might like to play on their own to big collaborative play,” she said.
The previous version of the museum, Explorations V Children’s Museum, was located in Downtown Lakeland and was much smaller in size and scope.
“It’s a big growth spurt,” she said of the new museum. “We ate our Wheaties for this one, yeah.”
As great as the museum is, it’s part of something even greater. It’s just one corner of the new Bonnet Springs Park.
The sprawling 168-acre "Central Park for Central Florida" offers a multitude of creative outdoor playgrounds, a nature center, a treetop canopy walk, paddle boats, a rooftop bar and restaurant and much more.
“I would say that there’s nothing like this in the Southeast,” Falwell said.
Between the new museum and new park, Falwell sees a source of fun for the entire region.
“We’re not just for Lakeland. We are for all of Central Florida,” she said. “We hope that we will be the first thought. So, people will come here and then decide to go to Legoland or Disney.”
Amy Wiggins, the President & CEO of the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce, worked at the museum’s previous location in Downtown Lakeland when she was in college.
“It’s part of my formative years here in Lakeland,” she said with a smile. “One of my jobs was feeding the frogs, and that is the one terror that I have.”
Those memories are part of the reason she glows with pride when describing the museum’s new space.
“We know that children learn through play, and Florida Children’s Museum does that so intentionally and purposefully,” she said. “I do think that this is the kind of space that really has an opportunity to transform the entire face of Lakeland.”
According to the Florida Children’s Museum website, kids under two can enter for free. Otherwise, it costs $15 per person, but there are a whole host of discounts for teachers, military and those who are eligible for SNAP/EBT.
Starting Friday morning, it’s open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays.
You can save time by buying tickets ahead of time online, but walk-ups are also welcome.
