What do Miamians love more than bemoaning the city’s shortage of cultural institutions? Complaining about the price of admission to the ones we do have. We’ll shell out $20 for a cocktail but can’t be bothered to spend the same on a ticket to a museum. It’s a shame, really, because at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, $28 gets you access to wildlife, a 3-D planetarium, interactive programming and plenty of great Instagram material to fill your feed for weeks. Now doesn’t that sound more refreshing than a gin and tonic in South Beach? Still not convinced? Allow us to persuade you, one dollar at a time.
1. Peer into a 500,000-gallon Gulf Stream Aquarium, and watch mahi-mahi, devil rays and hammerhead sharks circle the tank.
2. Practice your Spanish by experiencing four bilingual exhibits—“Feathers to the Stars,” “MeLaß,” “The Aquarium” and “River of Grass.”
3. Walk among green herons, cormorants and other birds in an open aviary rehabilitation facility.
4. Understand perception—and play with magnifying glasses!—at “Seeing: What Are You Looking At?,” a multidisciplinary dive into vision.
5. Witness a mind-blowing laser light show scored by rock legends like Pink Floyd and Radiohead.
6. Celebrate your birthday! Frost Science is open 365 days a year.
7. Experience a 360-degree, 3-D planetarium show, during which you collide with asteroids or swim with sharks.
8. Fling a paper airplane across the room at “Feathers to the Stars,” an engaging exhibit on the journey of flight.
9. Use your body as a test subject at “MeLaß,” an interactive exhibit that shows how your body reacts to the rest of the world.
10. Taste Frost123’s delicious liquid-nitrogen treats—like ice cream, sorbet and cocktails—frozen right before your eyes.
11. Download the Frost Science app and go on a scavenger hunt, earning virtual badges while you explore.
12. Understand weightlessness and life in orbit at “Space: An Out-of-Gravity Experience.”
13. Forecast the weather on the Lunar Terrace’s real-life weather station.
14. Pet a stingray, and see a hammerhead shark up close at the Vista observation deck.
15. Have your digital portrait drawn by a robot named Paul.
16. Learn more about the scientific worlds on display courtesy of LATE, the museum’s monthly after-hours–programming series designed to further explore particular themes and exhibits.
17. Go on a virtual journey through the Everglades, and interact with panthers, alligators and other wildlife along the way.
18. Learn about climate change—it’s real.
19. Touch native vegetation on the museum’s living roof.
20. Pay homage to the original science museum at the “Curious Vault,” which showcases preserved and donated specimens that highlight Miami’s natural history.
21. Crawl into a cave, and see a coral reef the way a fish does.
22. Get a close look at Neil Armstrong’s gloves from his Apollo 11 mission.
23. Send messages across Science Plaza using the Whisper Dishes—which transmit sound energy—and briefly contemplate life without a cell phone.
24. Participate in a live science demo.
25. See birds swoop down for dinner at the base of a mangrove.
26. Find Nemo, Dory and all sorts of real-life Technicolor fish you thought only Pixar could dream up by visiting exhibit “The Dive,” which is home to 30 different aquariums.
27. Come face-to-face with a 30-foot feathered dinosaur.
28. Explore living coral, mangroves and other Florida habitats without ever getting wet.
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