Top 6 Entry-Free Museums Near Orlando, Florida

1. Central Florida Railroad Museum

Central Florida Railroad Museum is located in the Gulf Rail Company Building. Situated one block south to Winter’s Garden on the famous West Orange Trail, in the beautiful and historic downtown of the city, the Central Florida Railroad Museum has always been a central tourist attraction in Orlando, Florida. The museum boasts a specialized telegraph room, containing authentic equipment such as scale models of train systems from different parts of the United States. To start off, after a joyful free entry, the local volunteers greet the visitors warmly and give them a brief history of the building setups. Not just that, the museum’s memorabilia includes photos, locks and keys, tinware, lanterns, etc. Also, just in case you thought that the place might turn out to be rather dull for children, you can find a train playset, right in the center of one of the rooms in the museum. Now, how creative is that?

Central Florida Railroad Museum

Address: 101 S Boyd St, Winter Garden, FL 34787, United States

Website: Central Florida Railroad Museum

Opening hours: 1pm - 5pm (daily)

2. Sanford Museum

It is commendable that museums, in general, are still valued for all of the information and history it possesses. Hence, the purpose of the Sanford Historical Society, to foster interest in the history of Stanford, is totally justified. Opened in 1957, Sanford Museum has personalized American and European paintings, and also books and objects from the era between 1820 and 1890 on display, and that too in a free-entry model. For those having an interest in astronomy, geology, or history, the museum offers a list of programs. All that needs to be done is to contact the Sanford Museum Association of volunteers. As for the exhibits, from astronomy to archaeology, the museum encompasses all. The museum also boasts a research library. This library has a collection of books of local interest and maps to high school annual memoirs. Apart from this also, there is an air station Sanford collection, containing photographs and biographies, to name a few.

Sanford Museum

Address: 520 E 1st St, Sanford, FL 32771, United States

Website: Sanford Museum

3. Lake Mary Historical Museum

The rich and colorful past portrayed at Lake Mary Historical Museum invites residents and visitors from all across the globe, that too for a free entry. Although the entire building is not that large, this museum contains uniforms and magazines that represent the military’s contribution to various wars. The museum also acts as a meeting point for the historical society, and hence there is enough open space to make arrangements for the same. The beautiful front porch makes the arrangement easier. The interiors of the museum are literally decorated with cool artifacts on display, some of which have been donated, and some of which are on loan. One unique trait observed here is that during exhibitions, paintings and sculptures, which are on display, not just come from well-established artists, but also the emerging ones. To add to this, the museum also sponsors different events every month, which makes the whole process quite impressive.

Lake Mary Historical Museum

Address: 158 N Country Club Rd, Lake Mary, FL 32746, United States

Website: Lake Mary Historical Museum

Opening hours: Tue, Fri & Sat: 10am - 3pm; Wed - Thu: 10am - 6pm (closed on Sun & Mon)

4. Winter Park Historical Museum

Created by the Winter Park Historical Association, Winter Park Historical Museum is a small museum in the heart of Winter Park, which resides on a former railroad freight depot. Even if a visitor from another county happens to visit the place for the first time, the museum has fantastic arrangements and free entry for all. You will also find volunteers who are always on the go and assist you with all sorts of guidance. The exhibits of this museum range from replicas of planes, to even the mannequins of soldiers. Also, the feature of constantly rotating exhibits is pretty much amazing and removes any case of feeling monotonous while taking a tour around the place. And even if that was not enough, the area has a dedicated gift shop as well.

Winter Park Historical Museum

Address: 200 W New England Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789, United States

Website: Winter Park Historical Museum

Opening hours: Tue - Fri: 10am - 4pm; Sat: 9am - 2pm (closed on Sun & Mon)

5. Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts

Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts is one free-entry art museum in Eatonville, Florida, which is dedicated to anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston and has continued to be a massive center of attraction for the locals and tourists since a long time now. It is a one-room museum featuring exhibits mostly of African and American artists, and in a way, celebrates various artists of African descent, which is indeed fortunate. So much so, that it shall not be wrong to say that the museum is an exhibition of the nation’s oldest incorporated African-American community. A specialty of the museum is that the exhibitions here are quarterly and give chances to the emerging artists as well. The displays here are mostly of films and photography from all eras, and sculptures by Davinci and Michelangelo.

Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts

Address: 344 E Kennedy Blvd, Eatonville, FL 32751, United States

Website: Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts

Opening hours: Mon - Fri: 9am - 4.30pm; Sat: 11am - 2pm (closed on Sun)

6. Cornell Fine Arts Museum

Inaugurated in 1978, the museum boasts more than 5,500 objects at present and free entry. Nestled in the waterline of Lake Virginia, there is a large garden and then huge cypress trees alongside the shore of the lake. The beautiful artwork in the museum’s interior seems that an entire room of artifacts from a famous house has been transferred right into the place. Works ranging from antique pieces of art and souvenirs to the contemporary ones could be found while visiting the museum. Apart from this, the fine arts museum is also used as an extension to classroom programs, where the students and teachers often exchange information related to works of art.

Cornell Fine Arts Museum

Address: 1000 Holt Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789, United States

Website: Cornell Fine Arts Museum

Opening hours: Tue: 10am - 7pm; Wed - Fri: 10am - 4pm; Sat - Sun: 12pm - 5pm (closed on Mon)

Experiencing art and culture in Orlando

In a nutshell, Orlando showcases its history and cultural development through the various museums mentioned above. The free entry feature offers an impetus to visitors from all strata of the society to drop by and gain as much knowledge as the museums offer.