The Jacksonville MOSH is a wonderful museum that will keep you busy for hours learning everything from creatures in the ocean to deep space.
My family visited the MOSH and had a wonderful time wandering the cool exhibits. There is something for all ages to keep you engaged, learning, and having fun.
During a Visit Jacksonville hosted trip in January, my family enjoyed a visit to Jacksonville’s MOSH.
The MOSH is their Museum of Science and History that has so many fun interactive exhibits. Some of the exhibits are focused on space, bodies, ocean, and the history of the Jacksonville area. Visiting ehibits are
ATLANTIC TAILS: Coastal Creatures of Northeast Florida
Living in Florida gives us the benefit to get to get the opportunity to experience the wonderful Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. The beautiful waters are home to so many different creatures. Naturally it’s a blast to learn all about them and their habitats.
The first exhibit you go through is Atlantic Tails, fully immersing you into the deep wonders of the Atlantic. The life sized sculpture of Fermata, a life-sized sculpture of a Right Whale is a great spot for taking photos. Check out all the different stations showing off the turtles, manatees, fish, and so much more.
The VyStar Intertidal Touch Tank is open daily from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
JEA POWERPLAY: Understanding Our Energy Choices
The JEA Powerplay exhibit is a cool hands on exhibit that explains the various ways to create energy from wind, solar, nuclear, and more.
JEA, located in Jacksonville, is a Not-For-Profit, Community-Owned Utility Focused on innovation. They are the eighth-largest community-owned electric utility company in the United States and the largest in Florida.
In the center of the space is a large city that you can power up with the different kinds of energy.
My kids loved this because they had a blast lighting up the city. They felt so powerful!
FLORIDA NATURALIST’S CENTER
Autumn was in her glory looking a the owls in the Florida Naturalist’s Center. She loves owls so this was so very cool for her because she got to see them in person.
Overall the kids really liked this space because it was full of various kinds of animals, like the birds, snakes, and cat fish.
Toytopia
Toytopia was the traveling exhibit that was at MOSH when we visited. It was a fantastic exhibit that was focused on retro and current toys.
Becoming immersed in the world of toys when visiting the Toytopia exhibit was a blast! Getting to see the world’s largest Etch-A-Sketch was so cool. It is close to 8’ tall!!!
Our family also had a ton of fun checking out the Retro Arcade Area, that had working classic games. To be honest, the kids didn’t really know how to work them, but the adults had a blast playing something that we grew up with.
The kids enjoyed running around the Life-Size Doll House- ah Autumn’s dream come true!
Hunter love the giant piano that you could hop around on (without shoes!) It was like a scene from BIG!
Upcoming! Da Vinci Machines & Robotics is the next traveling visit at MOSH. From 09.18.21 through 01.16.22, the exhibition will proudly present more than 60 machines from original da Vinci drawings. Check out his amazing flying machines, nautical, hydraulic and architectural innovations, ground- breaking applications of civil engineering and incredible war machines.
CURRENTS OF TIME: A History of Jacksonville & Northeast Florida
I really enjoyed getting to stroll through the past checking out the Currents in Time exhibit.
Plus, it was fun to see my kids react to things from the past. Life without a tablet?! Look at how small that TV was! Look at those outfits!
Spanning a 12,000 year time frame, this exhibit highlights how the Timucuas, Florida’s first Native Americans, lived. As well as it showcases how modern-day events have shaped Jacksonville to the city it is today.
SPACE SCIENCE GALLERY
Florida has a rich history with space innovation. The Kennedy Space Center is just 2 hours South of Jacksonville, is it’s natural to highlight the wonders of space and space flight at the MOSH.
I really enjoyed checking out interesting pictures from the Hubble telescope and pictures of crews working on the International Space Center. The replicas of space suits and the Apollo 11 capsule were cool too.
In the Bryan-Gooding Planetarium, we watched a movie about the Orion’s Belt Constellation.
The cartoon was fun and attention grabbing for kids, but presented information about the constellation in an educational way that even adults could enjoy.
The planetarium is one of the largest single-lens planetariums in the United States. It uses cutting edge technology to feature immersive productions about deep space exploration, our dynamic planet, and how the human experience connects it all.
CREATION STATION
The Creation Station, sponsored by Publix, is MOSH’s debut DIY maker space.
This hands on space is perfect to get really creative with all different kinds of materials. Kids can enjoy lessons that allow them to explore different material and techniques to create and build things. Lessons in Origami, coding, and building with LEGO blocks are some of the fun ways kids can be active in this space.
Kids can also take a break in the reading nook where they can browse STEAM based books.
Because of Covid, there have ben some changes to how the space is used. Even with those safety measures in place, our kids had a wonderful time checking out the different stations. They had fun building with blocks, playing with sand, and checking out artwork in the exhibit.
HIXON NATIVE PLANT COURTYARD
While the Hixon Native Plant Courtyard wasn’t in bloom, we still enjoyed a stroll around the outdoor space.
It features native plants so it helps encourage awareness and preservation of our region’s native species. Native species are so important to the local ecosystem. Featuring them brings up discussions about how we all can make small changes to improve our ecosystem from using less fertilizers, planting native plants, and reducing water consumption.
HEALTH IN MOTION: Discover What MOVES You
My kids love Health in Motion because it was a fun, interactive exhibit! They learned about the various systems in the human body. We discussed how we can better care for our body with fun movement and healthy eating.
Plus, dancing around and skeletons move around with you is just so much fun. Naturally making it do the Floss and Dab was hilarious.
COVID SAFETY
We felt really comfortable during out visit to MOSH because they required masks in all indoor spaces. Signs promoted social distancing and there were stations with hand sanitizer were throughout.
Staff was also very actively cleaning the surfaces through the space.
The Jacksonville MOSH is a great museum to visit because of the variety of exhibits that target various interests and ages. There truly is something for everyone to enjoy.
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