First Floor

• Icons of Tampa Bay Suspended from the Lykes Atrium ceiling, these 14 colorful icons represent the distinctive nature and uniqueness of the region.

• Winds of Change Theater profiles the first European contacts in Florida beginning with Panfilo Narváez’s landing near Tampa Bay in 1528.

• Florida’s First People features Tocobaga and Calusa artifacts, including tools, weapons and pottery, as well as original artwork by artist Theodore Morris.

• European Exploration details the arrival of Spanish and French explorers who landed in Florida at the beginning the 16th century.

• Charles E. Knight Gallery showcases Seminole and Miccosukee clothing, patchwork, jewelry, baskets, tools and a replica chickee.

• Coacoochee’s Story Theater immerses viewers in the riveting account of Seminole Chief Coacoochee’s experiences during the Second Seminole War.

• Cigar City chronicles Tampa's cigar industry and immigrant communities while featuring one of the most extensive cigar memorabilia collections in the world.

Second Floor

• Your Tampa Bay allows visitors to take a virtual tour of significant landmarks and view historic photographs around the Tampa Bay region via an interactive map.

• Cowmen & Crackers showcases Florida’s cattle ranching history, putting viewers in the middle of an actual cattle drive.

• Tampa Bay Timeline features a series of large panels with compelling photographs, renderings and artifacts, covering the past 500 years of history in our region.

• A Place of Our Own provides historical background about the region in kid-friendly and interactive ways.

• Year-Round Play highlights the area’s recreational and social activities, including a sports trivia board and a crewing scull to row up the Hillsborough River.

• Witness to Change examines significant events that were catalysts for change in the Tampa Bay region, focusing on civil rights, urban development, and the natural environment.

• War Stories focuses on participants or those serving on the home front in the wars that have touched our state and region since the 1830s.

• A Land Remembered, inspired by Patrick Smith’s novel by the same name, this area includes a replica pioneer cabin, original artifacts, and a hands-on Discovery Center.

• Touchton Map Gallery is a changing exhibition space that focuses on maps and related cartographic materials.

Third Floor

The Wayne Thomas Gallery hosts a rotating schedule of traveling and temporary exhibitions, sponsored in part by the Kimmins Foundation. 

Out of This World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television

October 1, 2011 - January 7, 2012

Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker. Captain Kirk. Klingons. The Terminator. Ghostbusters. These classic heroes and villains will be spending time together when the History Center opens Out of This World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television, on exhibit begining October 1, 2011.

Out of This World features more than 30 costumes and related objects from science fiction films and television programs such as Star Wars, Blade Runner, Terminator, Star Trek, and Batman.

The exhibit allows visitors to examine how costume design incorporates color, style, scale, materials, historical traditions and cultural cues to help performers and audiences engage, in new or accepted ways, with the characters being portrayed.

On exhibit through January 7, 2012, Out of This World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television is organized by the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle and is presented by Bright House Networks, the St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Digital Studios and the Kimmins Foundation.
 

Spies Traitors and Saboteurs: Fear and Freedom in America

February 4, 2012 - June 24, 2012 

From the Revolutionary War to the War on Terrorism, Spies, Traitors and Sabatours: Fear and Freedom in America provides unprecedented perspective into terror on American soil. The exhibition uncovers the forgotten stories of domestic terrorists and foreign agents, militant radicals and saboteurs, who have threatened America’s sense of security over the past 200 years. It also explores the questions: how do we identify who the enemy is? And how do we keep the country safe without compromising the civil liberties upon which it was founded?

Travel Back through time to discover dramatic stories including:

•City of Washington Captured and White House Torched - 1814 

•Manhattan Hit by Massive Explosions in New York Harbor -1916 

•American Leaders Targeted by Anarchist Mail Bombers - 1919 

•Bomb Rips Senate Wing of Capitol - 1971 

The exhibit includes:

•More than 145 historic photographs and documents 

•Fragments of the planes that hit the World Trade Center

•Ku Klux Klan robes and calling cards 

•Historic film footage and exclusive interviews 

•A timeline that traces over 170 events, including acts of terror and America’s reactions 

The exhibit was created by the International Spy Museum™ in Washington, D.C.