Museum outreach soars to new heights across Alachua County
Press release from the Florida Museum of Natural History
ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – The Florida Museum of Natural History’s outreach and educational programs expanded to engage a record-high number of nearly 5,000 children in Alachua County, at no cost to participating organizations, thanks to funding provided by the Children’s Trust of Alachua County.
In addition to continuing the Museum in the Parks program for middle schoolers and Science Surprises for elementary school children, this past year also saw the introduction of a new program called Early Explorers designed for prekindergarten-aged children. With this program, the museum’s outreach teams are engaging with children ages 4 to 14 across Alachua County and are a part of the area’s early science education throughout childhood.
From July 2024 to June 2025, the Florida Museum provided 393 outreach sessions reaching 4,789 children, compared with the 245 sessions offered the previous year.
“These experiences contribute heavily to children’s academic trajectory and lay the groundwork for further curiosity and interest,” said Alberto Lopez Torres, the Florida Museum’s education director.
For most participants, the Early Explorers program is their first exposure to any kind of science learning, and its hands-on and interactive nature gives them a solid foundation to build on later.
For instance, the most recent series of programs focused on fossils, a topic participants will likely encounter at school in the future. The kids learned what fossils are, how to identify them, and how they’re found by interacting with real mammoth, mastodon, and megalodon teeth from the museum’s collections.
The new program reached all nine Head Start providers in the county, including those in rural areas like Newberry and Archer.
The museum also collaborated with the Alachua County Library District and the City of Gainesville’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department to host these programs.
These partnerships, and the addition of the Early Explorers program, helped the museum ultimately serve 46 locations around the county, including all 12 branches of the Alachua County Library District. This is a significant increase from even 2022, when the museum’s outreach programs only took place at seven locations. That year, the museum reached about 2,500 children over 213 sessions, compared to the almost 4,800 children that participated in the nearly 400 sessions that took place over the 2024-2025 academic cycle.
The City of Waldo’s summer camp program was one of the new locations the Florida Museum’s Science Surprises program reached this past year.
“These programs bring hands-on science, exploration, and new learning experiences directly to our children – many of whom may not otherwise have access to this type of enrichment,” said Kim Worley, Waldo’s city manager. “The expansion into rural communities like Waldo has made a meaningful difference, sparking curiosity and excitement while supporting both educational growth and positive use of time.”
Science Surprises, designed for children aged 5 through 11, features a similar structure to Early Explorers of rotating themes but has a the distinction of take-home science projects.
Participants create something during the program, like a sound-making contraption or a hoop glider, that they can take home afterward. This not only generates excitement by showing the kids science can be fun but also encourages continued conversations about science at home.
“So, the lesson doesn’t end when we finish the program,” Lopez said.
The outreach and education team is in the process of developing new themes focusing on insects and spiders for the upcoming Early Explorer programs. The development and expansion of these programs have been instrumental in maintaining the museum’s presence in the community during the temporary closure of the exhibits building for a large-scale construction project.
“By meeting children where they are, from libraries to summer camps, the Florida Museum is making high-quality, hands-on learning accessible in ways that truly matter,” said Marsha Kiner, the executive director of Children’s Trust of Alachua County. “The growth we’ve seen in knowledge, engagement, and new experiences shows just how meaningful this investment has been.”
“With this funding, it’s really allowed us to expand our reach,” Lopez said. “It’s been really great being able to reach these children that might not even know that the museum exists.”
The funding from the Children’s Trust allows pre-K centers, kindergartens, elementary schools, middle schools, and after-school centers to host the museum at no cost. Organizations interested in taking part in Museum in the Parks, Science Surprises, or Early Explorers programs can sign up free of charge at alachua.samis.io/go/frx_enrichment_services_agreement/default.cfm.