The first time I visited this museum was in 2017. It was awe and there's so much to see here and…read morenew things to learn about. This facility also includes a butterfly garden, which is very interesting. I have managed to visit every year. There plenty of parking at this facility, to include a parking garage as well. If you love museums and live in Florida, I highly recommend visiting this museum.

This was better than I was expecting. The highlight is the butterfly exhibit. The museum itself is…read morefree, but if you want to do the butterfly/bird area or the Antarctic Dinosaur area, those two areas are for a charge. Since this was our first time, we paid to do both. We LOVED the butterfly area - so many butterflies flying around, beautiful plants, a nice variety of birds. Very peaceful - benches throughout. We got a bunch of great pictures in this exhibit. My tip for this area: WEAR A HAT. 2 of the 3 of us were pooped on while there - me in my hair and my hubby on his arm. No big deal, but a hat would prevent it in your hair if it happens. Risk is still well worth it! The Dino area - we did it and there was a lot of information and bones to look at, but it was just okay. I'd skip it next time, but glad we at least did it once. The museum also has a great discovery area for kids (and adults also). I also really enjoyed the "boat ride" on the river. You can sit in a room that looks like a boat and you hear a river cruise (it's a glass bottom boat, so you see things at the front and on the bottom). There are several other free areas to explore, many books and sitting areas for younger kids, and there is also a nice little gift shop with a good variety of things to choose from. Overall, worth the visit.

Wilmot botanical garden is named for Royal James Roy Wilmot who in 1940 was a horticulturist with…read morethe agricultural experiment Station at the University of Florida . Wilmot was an authority on camellias and classier 3,000 known varieties . This is a nice little park to walk around in front of the hospital with plenty of benches to sit and chill with the plants . Parking is not free

Wilmot Botanical Gardens is located in the heart of the University of Florida's College of Medicine…read moreand is named for Royal James "Roy" Wilmot. Wilmot was a horticulturist with the University of Florida's Agricultural Experiment Station during the 1940's. Wilmot was an authority on camellias (he was a "flower child" before the term was embraced by a generation in the 1960's) and classified many of the 3,000 known varieties of the flowering shrub. Wilmot also served on the American Camellia Society, the offices which were once housed on the grounds of the University of Florida. Wilmot passed away in 1950 and Wilmot Botanical Gardens was named in his honor on January 18, 1954. Wilmot Botanical Gardens is a tranquil place and a great place to escape the stress of the hustle and bustle and the grind of modern day life. All in all, this is a great place and one that I would definitely recommend. At one point, Wilmot Botanical Gardens had the largest collection of camellias in the United States of America and the second largest collection of camellias in the world.

It's fantastic that there's a local museum to get a better insight into the history of Ocala and…read moreMarion County. The exhibits took some getting used to as it's a brand new museum so everything wasn't laid out in a way it was easy to navigate and understand the sequence. Would love to see more historical images of downtown Ocala and Silver Springs. Well worth an hour or two of your time if you are a history buff.

It's a lovely, community run history museum with lots of information and exhibits. The volunteer…read morestaff is very enthusiastic and committed. We've always found the museum closed on Memorial Day, This year, it was open. The exhibits cover many topics related to the history and businesses of this small old Florida town. It's well worth the time.

The Micanopy Historical Society Museum is so rich in history, I wouldn't even know where to begin…read more They only ask for a small donation of two dollars, and that's only if you want to give it. Why wouldn't you? This place and these guides are giving you such wonderful experience and information about a really great historical town that is famous in Florida. The antiques that they have here for everyone to see are just amazing. If you're in the area, I highly suggest that if you're here after 1 PM, which is when they open that you stop in and get a look for yourself!

Sponsored by the Master Gardeners, this was the 22nd year of the county's Spring Festival. The name…read moresays it all as it celebrates all things related to spring....plants, garden accessories, classes & seeds. This was the 2nd year they added food trucks so you can shop, eat, & shop some more. You actually need to be recharged because this festival is huge and you need the entire day (or two) to see everything. Vendors come for the most part from out of town so this may be the only opportunity to purchase a plant that you wouldn't otherwise see in town. There are so many varieties of plants some which are trees, orchids, herbs, succulents, roses, ferns, bromeliads & bonsais. Parking is never a problem as the police are there to direct you where to go in the huge lot. If you've over purchased and are not sure you can carry your goodies out to your car the 4H club is always there to help. They're pull it all in a wagon to a special pick up area where you can just drive up and they'll load it in your vehicle for you. I've always admired this service organization and it's a great way for them to get involved. Don't forget to tip these hard working volunteers for helping you out. A tip from this longtime attendee is to know the out of town vendors and stay in touch with them. That way if there's something you're looking for that you can't find here you can contact them in advance and see if they can bring it for you to purchase.

This is an annual event that should not be missed. Mostly because it benefits our wonderful,…read moredepleted and somewhat polluted Silver Spring. While discovering all about the Silver Spring you can enjoy a multitude of fun. For 2 days there are musicians playing mostly blue grass at the mansion stage as well as the dock stage. This year there were 40 vendors selling a wide variety merchandise. Movies and exhibits are always fun and educational. New this year were beautiful mermaids in a cute indoor setting where children can have there photo taken with them. It's surely to return next year as it was a huge hit. Auctions of one of a kind art run both days and there's always a signing of a celebrity of some sort. The most popular event are the famous glass bottom boats. It's your only chance to ride one for only 1/2 price!

Just beautiful farm. Had to stay in car but loved the sights. Will do it again. Given map to show…read morewhere we could go.

We are down here on vacation and we read online that the farm allowed self guided tours. When we…read moregot here, we checked in at the office first. The girl at the front desk was very friendly, gave us directions and told us to stay on the road, off the grass and stay in our car. She didn't say anything about the time that it closed or which road were off limits. About a half hour later, we had been following the rules given to us and some lady drove up to our car and super rudely told us that the barn was closed and we needed to leave. She also told us that the road we were on was not part of the self guided tour, although we were not told any road was off limits and there were no signs to indicate that. This all would have been just fine if she was respectful or spoke to us decently but she was extremely mean about it. After that she TAILED us all the way to the exit to make sure we left. We had a great experience and were very impressed until she completely ruined our experience and our view of the farm. I'm not sure who she was but she was an employee of some sort. She unnecessarily turned a good experience into a humiliating drive out of the farm. Because of the way this employee treated us, will not be back or recommend visiting to anyone we know.

This was the 6th year for the Habitat Strawberry Festival and it was again a big hit! In fact it…read morewas so large this year they had to move it to a larger location and still was packed. Rows and rows of vendors selling their wares was over whelming. Interspersed were some amazing food vendors making everything you could imagine. Even though most people weren't watching, the live bands were very good. A car show, pet contest, pie eating contest and expensive kiddie rides rounded out the activities. Strawberries? Flats of strawberries could be preordered and picked up at the festival. That was it. No other strawberries or strawberry related items. Bottled water? Couldn't find it sold anywhere. I'm thinking it may be hanging out with the strawberry items that weren't there. :(