Miami’s  Cultural Moment

Miami’s arts scene is always in motion. In fact, some of the city’s top cultural hubs have recently undergone major transformations, including historical restorations and the addition of high-tech experiences. If you’re looking to add a bit of culture to your next visit, here’s the inside track on what’s new at three of Miami’s most exciting museums.  

Frost Museum of Science 
If you’re traveling with little ones, Downtown Miami’s Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science is one of the city’s most family-friendly attractions. The museum is one of only a few museums worldwide to have both an aquarium and a planetarium in one museum, and there are six floors of interactive exhibits, including several brand new ones. For instance, the museum’s paleontology division has expanded its footprint. Led by in-house experts, Frost Science has debuted an exhibit called The Dig, which showcases fresh dinosaur discoveries, field season research, and hands-on paleontology programming, keeping the experience dynamic for curious minds of all ages.

The museum also offers lots of new tech-forward updates. The Frost Planetarium recently debuted all-new interactive, immersive shows, including How to Survive in Space, which transform the 67-foot domed planetarium into an interactive journey through cosmic hazards, dynamic stellar events, and space exploration. The museum has rotating exhibits throughout the year, including an upcoming one that’s sure to be a hit with families called The Science Behind Pixar. These updates ensure that every trip to the museum feels fresh.     Continued on page 122

The Bass
Located in the heart of South Beach’s Collins Park, The Bass is Miami’s premier contemporary art museum and has undergone a recent expansion. In March, The Rotunda at the Bass Museum of Art opened to the public. The circular structure previously served as an assembly room for the old Miami Beach Public Library, and the recent renovations include a new entryway, modernized restrooms, and new walkways with LED lighting. The gallery offers free admission year-round to its rotating exhibits. 

The Bass has much more in store for visitors. Officials announced another forthcoming expansion that includes a brand-new 22,000-square-foot pavilion. At the heart of the expansion is an elevated gallery for the museum’s permanent collection of contemporary art that’s built to withstand the floods, heat waves, and hurricanes of  South Florida’s coastal climate. Outside, visitors can look forward to “The Patio at The Bass”, a shaded garden and community lounge equipped with a dedicated outdoor screening area for nighttime film projections, poetry readings, and art performances. 

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
Over on Biscayne Bay, Coconut Grove’s stunning Renaissance-style estate is also undergoing a series of transformative preservation projects. Built between 1914 and 1922 for industrialist James Deering, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is one of the few surviving estates from an era when America’s wealthiest built their own homes to mimic Europe’s grandest estates. Vizcaya currently features a Main House filled with a decorative art collection and 10 acres of formal gardens. 

Vizcaya Museum & Gardens Photo: Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau

To keep up with the times, officials are tackling major storm-readiness upgrades, installing discrete flood protection for its historic gardens, restoring original doors and windows, and conserving the intricate ceiling mural inside the famous swimming pool grotto. Beyond protection, the museum is expanding Vizcaya Village. Originally designed as service areas for the estate, officials are restoring these historic structures to provide a new education and conservation center and visitor center.  Parts of Vizcaya Village, like the Village Cafe, are partially open, while the broader revitalizations are taking place.  These new village spaces will give visitors expanded access to the historic estate, turning what was once a private retreat into an active neighborhood hub.