BRADENTON, FL — Manatee County residents will be able to visit The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature for free on select weekends through early 2027, thanks to a grant from The Bradenton Rotary Club.
The free admission dates are June 13–14, Sept. 5–6, Dec. 5–6 and Jan. 9–10.
“See the Planetarium. Visit the manatees. Walk through every exhibit,” the museum said in a social media post about the grant.
The free weekends are meant to widen access for local families
“Supporting The Bishop … with free admission on selected weekends supports our Manatee families, so that many may enjoy this gift in our community. Thank you, Bradenton Rotary Club,” the museum said.
The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature is described as the largest natural history museum on Florida’s Gulf Coast, and it interprets the region from the Pleistocene to the present, according to the museum website.
Highlights at the museum include fossil evidence of Florida’s earliest animal inhabitants, the Montague Tallant collection of prehistoric and early post-contact archeological artifacts, and the Environmental Hall, which focuses on Florida’s ecology and biodiversity in the Pine Uplands and Riverine Galleries.
The free-admission weekends also give residents access to two of the museum’s best-known attractions.
The Planetarium features what the museum calls one of the most advanced all-digital projection systems in the world and presents astronomy programs for families.
The Parker Manatee Rehabilitation Habitat is part of Florida’s Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership and has served as a temporary home to more than 40 rehabilitating manatees since 1998, according to the museum.
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