South Florida Museum, Bishop Planetarium & Parker Manatee Aquarium

For people looking for variety all in one day, the South Florida Museum, Bishop Planetarium, and Parker Manatee Aquarium is the place to go. It offers three completely different experiences under one roof in Bradenton, Florida. It has been in existence since 1966.

The South Florida Museum tracks Florida's history from prehistoric times to present. It contains fossils of its earliest marine and mammal inhabitants and art exhibits from modern day artists. It also contains artifacts from Florida's earliest human inhabitants up to relatively recent history.

The Bishop Planetarium is a state of the art digital theater/planetarium. It has universal view stadium seating and a 25,000 watt, 5.1 Dolby surround sound stereo system. While it is used for a variety of shows and movies, it is primarily used as a learning tool to explore all corners of the universe.

The Parker Manatee Aquarium is large enough to house three manatees. It holds over 60,000 gallons of water. The aquarium has one full-time inhabitant, Snooty, who has been housed in Bradenton since 1949. He is also Bradenton's official mascot. Its other inhabitants are manatees in need of medical care but which will be released back into the wild. There is also an exhibition area which offers information and lectures on manatees.