Museum Day Live 2017: Where To Go In Tampa Bay

TAMPA, FL — Tampa Bay residents looking for something to do on the cheap this weekend may want to stop by one of the region’s museums. This is the weekend that venues across the country open their doors at no charge in honor of the Smithsonian’s annual Museum Day Live event.

Set to take place on Saturday, Sept. 23, the event provides individuals and families free entry at participating museums. A long list of venues in the Tampa Bay area are taking part.

All visitors to participating museums need to do to take advantage of the offer is print out tickets online from the Smithsonian’s website. Each ticket is good for admission for two people and is valid only for the museum selected. Participants are allowed only one set of tickets.

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The Tampa Bay History Center is a regular participant in the annual event. It usually pulls out the stops for the special day. This year is no exception.

“We love participating in this event every year,” Manny Leto, history center spokesman, told Patch. “It’s really a day for people to celebrate this city’s museums and cultural attractions.”

Like in years past, the history center is planning a full day of fun from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Costumed re-enactors will be on site to mark the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. In addition, costumed historical interpreters will share “hands-on displays of artifacts, uniforms and memorabilia from the era,” the center announced in a media release. Visitors will also get to check out the center’s permanent collection and its temporary exhibit, “Gateways to the Caribbean: Mapping the Florida-Cuba Connection.”

The history center is just one of the potential stops residents across Tampa Bay may choose. Here’s a full listing of participating venues:

Tampa

• Tampa Bay History Center, 801 Old Water St.
• The University of Tampa’s Scarfone/Harley Gallery, 301 North Boulevard
• Tampa Museum of Art, 120 W. Gasparilla Plaza
• Ybor City Museum State Park, 1818 E. 9th Avenue
• Henry B. Plant Museum, 401 W. Kennedy Blvd.
• Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, 400 N. Ashley Drive, Cube 200

Sarasota

• The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Road

St. Petersburg

• Museum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Drive, N.E.
• The Florida Holocaust Museum, 55 Fifth St. S.

Bradenton

• South Florida Museum, 201 10th St. W.

Tarpon Springs

• Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, 600 Klosterman Road

Lakeland

• Polk Museum of Art, 800 E. Palmetto St.
• Explorations V Children’s Museum, 109 N. Kentucky Ave.

Palm Harbor

• Palm Harbor Museum, 2043 Curlew Road

For more information about Museum Day Live or to get free tickets, visit the Smithsonian online.

Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center