The Orange County History Center in downtown Orlando is a modern three-storey museum with colorful imaginative exhibits that kids enjoy. It is in the old courthouse building, where the old courtroom remains, in all its lavish detail. Outside the museum is Heritage Square with alligator sculptures around a fountain, and a grove of cypress trees.

The museum teaches you about centuries of Orlando history. This is not your small town history museum, but a modern museum that's worth a visit! My favorite part is the Disney exhibit, showing how Disney bought the land for and developed Disney World. I love to see the historic souvenirs from the parks! My daughter loves the old trolley that she can pretend to drive, which has a TV screen that makes it look like she is really driving along a dirt road!
There are beautiful exhibits of the Seminole indians and what the land looked like before Florida was built up. Kids can explore pioneer log houses and see Indian dolls. An exhibit on citrus farming could be more interactive. The cattle farming exhibit has a saddle kids can ride. Colorful posters grace the Florida tourism exhibit, showing what it was like when tourists were first drawn to the state. Blue lights decorate the gorgeous exhibit on Florida springs and aquifers. A military and aviation exhibit rounds out the education on Florida's history.
Walk to Lake Eola and downtown Orlando after and see what a great city this is! Another good indoor activity is the Orlando Science Center, more crowded than this museum but packed with fun things for kids.

Directions

Orange County Regional History Center is located at 65 E. Central Blvd, Orlando FL 32801, call (407) 836-8500.
Open Mon-Sat 10-5, Sun 12-5. Closed for special events and major holidays- call ahead.
Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for students, seniors, and military personnel, aand $9 for children aged 5-12.

Click on map for interactive view