Blog

Artifacts In 3D

Engraved powder horn with map

In partnership with the Tampa Bay History Center, the Digital Heritage and Humanities Collections at the University of South Florida Libraries uses the latest digital and mapping technologies to create …

Hands-On Activities

Pirate snacks

During the Age of Exploration, sailors, like pirates and explorers, would sometimes not see a dock for months. Without a refrigerator, they needed something to eat that would last for longer periods of time, so they made hard tack or ship’s biscuits.

Hands-On Activities

Map Making

Did you know? The Tampa Bay History Center is the only cartographic center in the Southeastern United States! Our Touchton Map Library’s collection consists of thousands of maps, charts, atlases, and other cartographic materials.

Hands-On Activities

Pirate Sword

In the Treasure Seekers exhibit, you can learn all about the pirates! Here are directions to make your own pirate sword at home!

Hands-On Activities

Pioneer soap carving

Long ago, in the pioneer days, people used the same type of soap for many purposes, including house cleaning, laundry, dishes, and hygiene.

Press Release

Tampa Bay History Center will reopen Friday with free admission

The Category 4 hurricane did not significantly impact the museum, and it will reopen on Sept. 30, 2022, with free admission from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sep 29, 2022

Press Release

Top honors awarded to Tampa Bay History Center for Cuban Pathways

Tampa Bay History Center is pleased to announce they are a recipient of the 2022 Southeastern Museums Conference Gold Exhibition Award for Cuban Pathways.

Sep 06, 2022

Press Release

Kitschy Cartography: Illustrated and Pictorial Maps of Florida

In Kitschy Cartography, visitors will see views of Florida and its cities through the eyes of artists who populate their maps with colorful characters that symbolize the history, industries, and people of the state.

May 17, 2022

Press Release

Cuban Pathways: The Exhibition

Taíno Indians, enslaved Africans, Chinese laborers and pastel-wearing U.S. tourists all traveled to and from Cuba over the last 500 years. Their experiences and labors made the largest island in the Caribbean a hub of the modern Atlantic World. Cuban Pathways tells the stories of these individuals and more, whose toil, vacations and political crusades shaped the island’s modern history.

Jan 27, 2022

Press Release

Tampa Bay History Center toasts Bay area beer scene

(TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 14, 2019) — Almost as soon as the cigar smoke started rising from the factories of Tampa’s Ybor City, the beer started flowing. In 1897, the aroma of Cuban tobacco emanating from the city’s cigar factories mingled with the scent of imported hops fermenting at the Florida Brewery – the state’s first.

Feb 14, 2019