Activities/Museums

Florida Museum of Natural History Butterfly Garden

The Butterfly Rainforest is a can’t-miss living exhibit that features hundreds of free-flying butterflies and birds from around the world along with an assortment of other animals including turtles and fish to experience firsthand species of butterflies & birds roam free in this Natural History Museum interactive exhibit.
 

Butterfly

Kanapaha Botanical Gardens

A 68 acre non profit facility comprised of 24 major collections visually accessible from a 1 ½ mile paved walkway. These include the state’s largest public display of bamboos and the largest herb garden in the Southeast. Some of Kanapaha’s gardens are organized taxonomically; others demonstrate principles of ecology or natural selection.

Kanapha Botanical Gardens

Hawthorne State Trail

A paved rail trail protected as a 16-mile long Florida State Park and runs from the City of Gainesville’s Boulware Springs Water Works to the town of Hawthorne. On this historic rail bed turned greenway, you will pass by native plants and wildlife, diverse scenery and backyard Florida culture. The overlooks and stops of interest tie together a rich story of small railroad towns, locomotives and human activity along this corridor. The recreational trail is paved with a grassy equestrian trail running alongside.

Cyclists

Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo

The Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo, a unique 10-acre zoo in Gainesville, Florida, is the only zoo on a college campus accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The SF Teaching Zoo is home to over 70 different species of animals and is maintained by about 100 students enrolled in the college’s premier Zoo Animal Technology program.
The zoo showcases a diverse collection that contains both native and exotic species for everyone to enjoy.

Santa Fe Zoo

Cade Museum for Creativity & Invention

Since opening in 2018, more than 100,000 visitors have experienced the Cade’s unique hands-on programming for children designed to spark imagination and inspire creativity. The Cade’s programs also help to build bridges to the innovation economy for those without access, low-income families, underserved communities, and those needing assistance to access education and start on the career paths available to them to fulfill their dreams.

Cade Museum

Florida Museum of Natural History

The Florida Museum of Natural History is a library of life, capturing the variety and wonder of the natural world around us.  The Museum’s collections, research, exhibits and programs exist to inspire people to care about life on Earth and make a positive difference in its future.

Natural History Museum

Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art

The Harn Museum of Art’s mission is to inspire, educate and enrich people’s lives through art. The Harn uses the power of the visual arts to open conversations about our shared cultural history and pressing contemporary issues through exhibitions, collections, scholarship and programming of the highest caliber. The Harn strives to develop an academic community of creative, divergent thinkers in collaboration with the University of Florida, and fosters joy and community by welcoming students, UF faculty and staff and local residents to engage with art.

Harn Museum

Hippodrome Theatre

Set in the historic Federal Building, this theater offers plays, independent films and an art gallery. Come see what the Hippodrome has to offer. Programming includes events such as our Basement Sessions, Jazz Series, improv comedy nights, concerts, guest performers, festivals, open mic sessions and much more. Something fun is always happening at the Hipp!

Hippodrome