We went here to see Snooty the Manatee. What a unique experience! Such amazing creatures! After the presentation we walked around the museum. So much to see and learn! Very nice exhibits! I'm looking forward to my next visit!

There is plenty to see here. The young lady telling us about the manatee rescues was extremely good. The planetarium was interesting and there is plenty to see in the museum.

We enjoyed this attraction. It had lots to offer and was really like visiting 3 attractions in 1. I especially enjoyed the Manatee exhibit and the presentation by the volunteers. They were truly "into it" and made the experience easy to understand. I enjoyed the museum, planetarium show and the DeSoto exhibit equally, as well. HINT: Bring your camera, memory... More

Local history, Florida history, plus its famous attraction: Snooty the Manatee. It is a lovely family experience and worth the trip. It may be a little dry for younger children, but there are some hands-on things for them as well.

The museum is very interesting. Small in scale but nice. Worth walking around. Artifacts & info on South FL... Tampa down.. Indians & animals. The manatees & the feeding is also worth a look. The planetarium shows ( saw 2) very good. Visit well worth the ticket price, which includes all 3. Free parking OnSite.

Actual visit was 7/2/2011. The museum is a true treasure to the state of Florida. It holds exhibits and artifacts from the state's past going as far back as 2,000 years to the present day. The displays and dioramas offer an exciting view into history. Some great points are the mock room-size settlement of how early Florida pioneers staked their... More

We went on a very rainy day and so did the rest of Bradenton I think!! We have 16 year old and 17 year old sons and they are usually very interested in history and exhibits but this place just didn't float their boat. We visited the manatees, which was Ok although the size of their habitat did concern me... More

The museum exhibits on the history of Florida were really interesting! Our favorite part of the visit was the manatee feeding. The lady leading this part was very informative and of course, "Snooty", the star of the show, was great! It was definitely an entertaining 30 minutes that we talked and laughed about for a long time afterwards! The Planetarium... More

Likes - the manatee aquarium and the historical dioramas, accompanyiing displays. Disliked - the planetarium due to the poor to mediocre quality of the projections - so much seemed too dim or out of focus that it detracted very much from what would be a good presentation. Perhaps we were jaded by having seen the Hubble 3D IMAX presentation at... More