Florida with Kids

Located in east Pasco County 45 minutes north of Tampa next to the Green Swamp, Florida's second-largest wilderness area, Giraffe Ranch, a 47-acre licensed working ranch and native wildlife preserve that is home to several exotic species, including giraffes and domestic cattle.

The preserve features beautiful landscapes including ephemeral wetlands, lush pastures, native orchids, and live oaks, and is inhabited by animals from around the world such as giraffes, camels, rhinos, Brazilian tapirs, and pygmy hippos. 38650 Mickler Rd, Dade City, FL 33523, Phone: 813-482-3400, Map

The Museum of Arts and Sciences (MOAS) in Daytona Beach is dedicated to the fields of arts and science and is home to over 30,000 objects, items, and artifacts ranging from astrology to original artworks from African to Cuba. Located on the 90-acre Tuscawilla Preserve, the Smithsonian-affiliated Museum features a state-of-the-art planetarium, one of the most significant collections of Cuban paintings in the United States, the Schulte Gallery of Chinese Art, the Dow Gallery of American Art, and the Prehistory of Florida Gallery.

The Charles and Linda Williams Children's Museum is a hands-on science center, which houses professionally designed immersive exhibits that demonstrate various principles of science in a variety of fun and immersive displays.

Museum of Arts and Sciences, 352 S Nova Rd, Daytona Beach, FL 32114, Phone: 386-255-0285, Map

The Naples Botanical Garden is a 170-acre world-class garden paradise and botanical garden that is home to a wide variety of plants from around the world.

Established to develop and preserve the productive floral ecosystems and kingdoms between the 26th latitudes, the gardens boast an award-winning horticultural design with an array of different gardens, including Irma’s Garden, Kapnick Brazilian Garden, LaGrippe Orchid Garden, Kapnick Caribbean Garden, and the Lea Asian Garden.

The Water Garden features several beautiful water features and tranquil ponds, and the Chabraja Visitor Center offers an array of information about the gardens and the flora that make up the habitats within it. The Naples Botanical Garden offers a range of educational programs, classes, workshops, and community outreach programs for visitors of all ages.

Naples Botanical Gardens, 4820 Bayshore Dr, Naples, FL 34112, Phone: 239-643-7275, Map

The Manatee Observation and Education Center is an environmental education and wildlife viewing center in downtown Fort Pierce, which is dedicated to coastal awareness. The Center straddles the saltwater Indian River Lagoon and freshwater Moore's Creek, a freshwater tributary and historically renowned for being a gathering place for Florida manatees who come together in the warm runoff water from the disused Henry B. King Power Plant.

The Center aims to inspire an interest in these gentle giants, as well as the coastal environment in which they live and the conservation of Florida's diverse habitats. The Manatee Observation and Education Center is open Tuesday through Sunday.

480 N Indian River Dr, Fort Pierce, FL 34950, Phone: 772-429-6266, Map

Located on North Hutchinson Island and four miles north of Fort Pierce Inlet State Park, Avalon State Park is a new seaside park with over a mile of undeveloped beachfront. The park offers a variety of recreational and outdoor activities such as swimming, snorkeling, sunbathing, beachcombing, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, and picnicking at sheltered picnic tables overlooking the beach.

The park also provides a vitally crucial protected habitat for many species of wildlife, including endangered sea turtles, like the Atlantic green, the loggerhead, and the leatherback. It also protects and preserves several protected species of plants such as the inkberry, the giant leather fern, the naked wood, and coastal vervain.

Avalon State Park, N Hwy A1A, Fort Pierce, FL 34949, Phone: 772-468-3985

Blue Spring State Park is a state park located west of Orange City and a popular tourist destination that offers an array of outdoor recreational activities from hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, and canoeing to swimming, fishing, camping and wildlife watching and is one of the best places in Florida to see manatees in the wild. The constant 72-degree waters of the St. Johns River, which rests at the center of the park, is home to more than 500 manatees, along with other wildlife such as a variety of wading birds, ospreys, eagles, and kingfishers, and plenty of fish.

Blue Spring Park serves as a haven for these gentle creatures who come to the park to birth their calves in a protected area in the summer. Blue Spring State Park visitors can see the manatees on guided canoe, kayak, or riverboat cruises.

Blue Spring State Park, 2100 W French Ave, Orange City, FL 32763

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is an animal sanctuary dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of sick and injured marine animals in Clearwater.

Founded in 1972 and based in a former water treatment plant whose pools are ideal for the rehabilitation of the animals, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium is currently home to a variety of marine animals, including Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, green sea turtles, great white pelicans, cow nose rays, North American river otters, and nurse sharks.

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a permanent home to these animals as once they have been rescued and rehabilitated, they remain at the sanctuary for safety. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is located at 249 Windward Passage in Clearwater.

Activities at the Aquarium include boat cruises and kayaking trips, children’s camps, documentaries, and films shown in the Aquarium’s Spectrum Theater, and Behind-the-Scenes tours.

Visitors can also enjoy animal experiences and learn more about feeding, caring for, and animal husbandry, along with self-guided or group tours of the facility.

249 Windward Passage, Clearwater, FL 33767, Phone: 727-441-1790, Map

Dinosaur World is a family-friendly museum chain of three outdoor dinosaur theme parks around the country that feature over 150 life-size dinosaur sculptures designed and created by Christer Svensson. Based in Plant City, Florida, Cave City, Kentucky, and Glen Rose, Texas, Dinosaur World is home to numerous life-size dinosaur statues posed in habitats that reflect their natural environments when they existed ranging from lush tropical jungles and grassy savannahs to tranquil lakes.

The park has several shady areas for picnicking as well as play areas for children, and attractions at the park include a ‘Fossil Dig’ where kids can dig for real fossils at a sand table and take their favorite three home.

Other attractions include the Dinosaur Walk; Dino Gem Excavation; interactive shows like that Exploration Cave Show and Triviasaurus Rex Game Show; and an Animatronic Dinosaurs Display, among others.

Dinosaur World, 5145 Harvey Tew Rd, Plant City, FL 33565, Phone: 813-717-9865

Officially known as the Walt Disney World Resort, Walt Disney World is a world-renowned entertainment complex that offers a wealth of entertainment, theme parks, and fun for the whole family. Located in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Walt Disney World spans 27,258 acres and features four massive theme parks, two water parks, 27 themed resort hotels and nine non-Disney-themed hotels, several championships and designer golf courses, a camping resort, and the outdoor Disney Springs shopping center.

Theme parks include Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and the two water parks include Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon and Disney’s Blizzard Beach. Walt Disney World is the most visited vacation resort in the world and the flagship destination of Disney's worldwide corporate enterprise.

Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, FL 32830, Phone: 407-939-5277