Naples is a city that bears so much colorful history. The city was founded and settled a little over a hundred years ago but its vibrant history goes down long before it’s been called a city. From prehistoric mammals and lost civilizations down to the robust railroad engines of the early 20th century, the museums in Naples city definitely has something interesting to offer for history buffs, the students and even people who simply want to learn about the place’s rich memories.
Here are some of the city’s best museums and what they have to offer:
1. Naples Depot Museum
Conveniently located in downtown Naples and long hidden on the fringe of Florida’s Gulf Coast and overlooked by developers until well into the 1880s, Naples’ catalyst for settlement finally arrived less than fifty years later when two competing railroads rolled into town within ten days of each other.
Located in Naples’ restored Seaboard Air Line Railway passenger station, the Naples Depot Museum treats visitors all the way back to the railroading heydays of the Roaring Twenties and tells how generations of Southwest Floridians used technology and transportation to expand their horizons and dominate a vast and seemingly insurmountable frontier.
Their exhibit features Seminole antique swamp buggy, dugout canoes, a mule wagon, restored rail cars and automobiles, plus exciting interactive exhibits that tell the story of how trade and travel transformed Naples from a sleepy hamlet of 300 people into today’s shimmering Gulf coast resort.
2. Collier County Museum
Be amazed by ancient shell tools and ceremonial masks and dig up the information about the Calusa Indian civilization that flourished here long before European conquerors first arrive on the Gulf coast.
Hunt great and awesome mastodons with Florida’s prehistoric hunters, or travel even further back in time, when massive sharks with terrible razor sharp teeth roam the vast tropical seas that once covered Southwest Florida.
Discover America’s little-known yet interesting wars in South Florida, the amazing journey of the Seminole people, and the origins behind traditional crafts like patchwork, once manually stitched together on hand-operated sewing machines.
Experience the lives – and utter seclusion – of the pioneering settlers and their kin as they set foot on the murky frontier a hundred years ago, and dive in the vision of a self-made multi-millionaire who yearned of exploring a wilderness swampland the size of Delaware. Along the way, you’d be introduced to the hardy and colorful folk – the cattlemen, trail blazers, clam diggers, hermits, plume hunters, loggers, rum runners, railroaders, Crackers and Indian traders – who wrote the pioneer history of Collier County.
Resting on five acres of native Florida landscape, the flagship museum at the County Government center in Naples offers newly created and fresh exhibits and galleries that capture the entire essence of local history. Take a nice stroll and stay a while in the museum’s cool backyard. Then do some exploring in our native gardens, restored Naples historical cottages, the archaeology lab, and Seminole village or Calusa Indian camp.
3. The Baker Museum
The Baker Museum is the premier fine arts museum in Southwest Florida. Focusing on modern and contemporary art, the museum features several traveling exhibitions annually to complement installations of pieces from its permanent collections. The Baker Museum offers world-class exhibitions and educational features for Southwest Florida’s diverse community and beyond.
The museum offers several seasonal exhibitions to add variety to their collection. There are also the quite engaging visual arts events which feature a studio tour, a make-and-take activity for the children where they get hands-on with their artsy side and get to take home their own works of art. Finally, there are several lectures and talks about art and architecture and painting from seasoned artists.
4. The Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples
The Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples is a brain-stimulating powerhouse and Southwest Florida’s first museum dedicated for children and families to interact and enrich their minds through playing. With hands-on exhibit galleries, the accessible museum welcomes visitors of all ages to explore the swamps of the Everglades, climb a two-story banyan tree, weave through a maze or tinker with the water play station. Children can become a farmer, weather forecaster, a chef, an artist, a fisherman, an architect or a veterinarian; explore the chill of an igloo, the whoosh of the breeze, the sounds of the ocean, the effects of water and the colors of the rainbow. Throughout the day, special games encourage our guests to participate, try something exciting and be energized.
These are just some of the fun and exciting museums you can visit in Naples. So, if you’re feeling the historical rush or if you’re looking to take the kids on an educational tour, swing by on one or several of these museums and have your mind and your senses stimulated by the wondrous pieces of art and exhibitions these places have to offer.
