The Power of Science

With its planetarium, aquarium and compelling science exhibitions, the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science brings science learning in Miami to a world-class level. 

While breathtaking in its own right, the view from the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science’s locale on Biscayne Bay isn’t the only thing that has captured the imagination of residents and visitors from around the world. Since opening on May 8, 2017, the museum has welcomed nearly a million guests through its doors, sparking awe and wonder as the only aquarium, planetarium and science museum in the city. 

Sitting on four acres within Downtown Miami’s waterfront Museum Park, the 250,000-square-foot campus is divided into four distinct buildings: the Aquarium, the Frost Planetarium, and the North and West Wings. This unique setting—built using leading-edge sustainability initiatives—takes guests on a journey from the ocean to the Everglades, and from the human cell to outer space. 

One of the focal points of the museum is the Aquarium, with its stunning 500,000-gallon Gulf Stream Aquarium exhibit that culminates in a transcendent 31-foot oculus lens into the waters above—an Instagram favorite. Here, guests descend through various floors while watching the resident mahi-mahi, devil rays and hammerhead sharks travel through open water. The three-level Aquarium also explores some of South Florida’s other essential habitats through a free-flight aviary and an interactive sting ray touch pool. Across the way, the 250-seat Frost Planetarium takes guests on a visual joyride through Earth and space using a 16-million-color 8K visual system with six 3D-capable projectors and surround sound—one of the most advanced spaces of its kind in the United States. 

The recently opened Design Lab: Engineering exhibition has quickly captured museum-goers’ attention. Part exhibition, part laboratory, the space presents them with challenges engineers face in the process of designing and building. Guests can view vintage iterations of roller skates, toasters and other everyday objects as they discover how they helped humanity solve challenges it’s faced in the past. In the second half of the exhibition, a lab awaits, featuring a timed challenge that asks participants to put all their newfound knowledge to the test in order to achieve a design goal. 

This month, the museum will feature its newest and most ambitious exhibition to date: The Power of Poison: From the Depths of the Sea to Your Own Backyard. Organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, the exhibition will be a first for the museum, as it extends to other parts of the campus in a full-fledged “toxin takeover.” From the Hsiao Family Special Exhibition Gallery and the rooftop to the Aquarium and Inventors in Residence Lab, visitors will explore poison’s role in nature, human health and myth, while coming face-to-face with different poisonous and venomous species from South Florida and around the world. They’ll also walk through a diorama of Colombia’s Chocó forest and solve some of history’s most puzzling poisoning cases through digital interactive stations and whimsical projection mapping. Opening May 26, the exhibition will be on view through September 3, 2018 in the Hsiao Family Special Exhibition Gallery. The exhibition is supported locally by Jackson Health System and Florida Poison Information Center-Miami.

Visit www.frostscience.org to more information on the museum and admission. Follow Frost Science on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @frostscience. Frost Science is located at 1101 Biscayne Blvd. Miami, FL 33132. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and a member of the Association of Science and Technology Centers.