Museums in:

Gainesville, Florida

Science, Specialized

To inspire creative thinking, future inventors, and early entrepreneurs. The Cade Museum for Creativity + Invention - located in Gainesville, Florida - is named for Dr. James Robert Cade, the physician, musician, researcher and inventor best known for leading the University of Florida team that created Gatorade, to honor his creative spirit and passion for new ideas. The Cade Museum is a hands-on solution to some very real problems. American Creativity Quotient (CQ) scores have been steadily and significantly declining since 1990*, coupled with falling academic performance in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). We propose to help change that by highlighting the link between creative thought and breakthrough ideas.

Archaeology, Natural History, Science

Visitors to the Florida Museum, on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, can enjoy hundreds of exotic butterflies in a rainforest setting, witness a South Florida Calusa Indian welcoming ceremony, experience a life-size limestone cave, and see a mammoth and mastodon from the last Ice Age. Permanent exhibits include Northwest Florida: Waterways and Wildlife, South Florida People and Environments, Hall of Florida Fossils: Evolution of Life and Land, and the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, which features the screened, outdoor Butterfly Rainforest exhibit with hundreds of live butterflies.

Dickinson Hall houses the museum's other research activities and vast collections containing more than 40 million natural history specimens and artifacts.

Harn Museum of Art

Gainesville, Florida

Art, Culture, University

The Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida opened in 1990. The Mary Ann Harn Cofrin Pavilion opened in October 2005 and includes exhibition space, a café and classrooms. An expansive addition dedicated to the conservation, display and interpretation of Asian art opened in March 2012.

Morningside Nature Center

Gainesville, Florida

Natural History

Gainesville’s premier nature park, Morningside Nature Center, is one of the last remaining examples of fire-dependent longleaf pine woodlands in the area. More than seven miles of trails wind through sandhill, flatwoods, cypress domes, and areas where native vegetation is being restored. Morningside boasts a spectacular wildflower display and opportunity to see a diverse array of wildlife.

Thomas Center For the Arts

Gainesville, Florida

Art, Historic House

Owned and operated by the City of Gainesville's Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, the historic William Reuben Thomas Center is a beautifully restored Mediterranean Revival-style building that was once a private home, then a hotel. Currently the Thomas Center serves as an arts and cultural resource for Gainesville and Alachua County. The Thomas Center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and contains art galleries, 1920's period rooms, local history exhibits, performance space, banquet rooms, and meeting rooms. The Thomas Center is surrounded by the lovely Thomas Center Gardens and the Grace and Sidney Knight Children's Theatre. The Center is the site of a variety of art exhibits, performances and musical events.

Kanapaha Botanical Gardens

Gainesville, Florida

Botanical Garden, Science

Kanapaha Botanical Gardens is a 62 acre facility developed and operated by the North Florida Botanical Society, a non-profit educational organization. In 1978, the Society signed a lease agreement with Alachua County whereby it gained access to a 33 acre tract of land for the development of a public botanical garden; in 1982, an additional 29 acre parcel was added to the lease, bringing Kanapaha Botanical Society to its present size. The Gardens' name is derived from its proximity to 250 acre Lake Kanapaha. The word Kanapaha is derived from the Timucua Indian words for "palmetto leaf" and "house." Taken together, they refer to the thatched dwellings that were home to the original residents of a small Timucua village on the western shore of Lake Kanapaha.

Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo

Gainesville, Florida

Science, University, Zoo

The Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo is the local zoo for the Gainesville area and the laboratory for the Zoo Animal Technology program. Set in a naturally wooded environment, the 10-acre facility is open to the public and has a diverse collection of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. Home to over 75 different species of animals, our diverse collection contains both native and exotic species that everyone can enjoy. Some family favorites are the Bald Eagle, White-throated capuchin monkeys, Matschie’s tree kangaroos, Asian small-clawed otters and the White-handed gibbons. We are open to the public 7 days/week from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.; last entry at 2:30 p.m.

Art, University

THE UNIVERSITY GALLERIES are an essential component of the research and service missions of the University of Florida. Exhibitions enhance and challenge the bodies of knowledge in various studio disciplines.

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MUSEUM CONFERENCES

April 27 - April 29, 2025

Oregon Museum Association 2025 Conference

TBA

Independence, Oregon

Beginning in 2025, the OMA annual conference will be held in Spring rather than Fall

The conference this year is all about trying new things. We are hoping to organize the conference into the following four tracks: Collections Care, Leadership, Emergency Preparedness, and Tourism

Check our website for more details in early 2025

The OMA newsletter is emailed every month with updates on OMA events, museum news, other events, trainings, jobs, grants and more for the museum community in Oregon.

For more information, please email connect@oregonmuseums.org.

October 1 - October 4, 2025

Western Museums Association’s (WMA) 2025 Annual Meeting

TBA

Reno, Nevada

Save the Date for WMA 202

As we celebrate our 90th anniversary, join us to build relationships and soar higher than ever before. With the theme of ELEVATE, WMA 2025 will explore ways to lift up the experiences of cultural professionals and the communities they serve.

In Reno, Nevada, 4,400 feet above sea level, we will forward the progress of museums by looking to the future.

May 6 - May 9, 2025

2025 American Alliance of Museums (AAM) ANNUAL MEETING & MUSEUMEXPO

Los Angeles Convention Center

Los Angeles, California

AAM 2025 will focus on the theme, Museums & Trust.

Museums have long inspired high levels of public trust, surpassing news outlets, government organizations, researchers and scientists, corporations, and social media platforms. This consistent finding underscores our institutions’ unique position in society as stewards of knowledge, culture, science, and history—areas where credibility and reliability are paramount

In an era marked by mistrust and misinformation, museums have a rare ability to counterbalance the proliferation of false narratives and polarized perspectives. Using our trusted position, we can cultivate a more healthy, empathetic, and informed society.

But to do so, we must maintain our credibility proactively, embracing thoughtful, transparent, and collaborative practices that will defend against influences like bias, resource challenges, abuse of power, and social injustice

An Incredible MuseumExpo

AAM is again partnering this year with the Museum Store Association to host an incredible combined expo hall. Find the most innovative services, products, and solutions in the museum field. With 350 exhibitors, you are bound to find the right partner for your museum’s current challenges and opportunities.

May 5 - May 9, 2025

Museum Store Association FORWARD 2025 in LA

The Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Join MSA in LA

We’re excited about our next MSA FORWARD Conference & Expo in “The City of Angels” – Los Angeles, California in conjunction with the American Alliance of Museums

Join the Museum Store Association (MSA) and hundreds of nonprofit retail professionals for the 70th Annual MSA FORWARD Retail Conference & Expo, taking place May 5-9, 2025 at The Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California

Once again, MSA FORWARD will be held in conjunction with the 2025 American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Annual Meeting & Expo

Learn best practices and new ideas for store merchandising, operations, marketing, and sale

Participate in dedicated networking events and create connections that will inspire new ideas

Meet with over 200 MSA vendors about your product needs

Hear from knowledgeable industry experts during session breakouts and keynote presentations

Network with AAM attendees and exhibitor

September 10 - September 13, 2025

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

TBD

Cincinnati, Ohio

The 2025 AASLH Annual Conference, in partnership with Ohio Local History Alliance, will take place as the history field makes the final preparations to kickoff off the 250th commemoration of the founding of the United States.

The 2025 conference theme, inspired by AASLH’s Making History at 250: The Field Guide for Semiquincentennial, is an opportunity to broadly explore one of the guide’s themes, The American Experiment. For many in the American colonies in 1776, independence from Britain represented a “leap into the dark” into an unknown future

We are excited for you to join us in Cincinnati as we encourage discussion about our democracy and civic institutions and how they can help strengthen understanding, inspire action, and reveal ways that all of us can participate in and shape the ongoing American experiment.

For more information, please call 615-320-3203 or email info@aaslh.org.

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