Great informational place! Right in the heart of downtown. Plan to spend a whole day there if you want to see everything and not be rushed!

Weve been to this museum many times, but I love that theres always something new to see. The Brewery History exhibit last year was excellent, and the Wrestling exhibit was really interesting. Its great that theres such a nice mix of natural history, indigenous cultures history, as well as the histories of local sports teams, military, agriculture, etc. But my absolute favorite is the pirate exhibit on the top floor. And I can easily spend an hour just in the map room. All the employees are really friendly and welcoming, and the gift shop has a nice selection of unique items.

Great place to stop and learn about Tampas extensive history. It is inexpensive and enjoyable. Take the time to go through the First Nations exhibits, there is much to learn. It is a fun stop during a warm day.

This is an excellent museum and great for kids. Wonderful videos, interactive history of indigenous people, Spanish Conquistadors and shipwrecks. Very good social distancing and Covid precautions.

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and many great exhibits. I learned so much more about cut of Tampa. A must see destination

For a good dose of entertainment and education, the TBHC is the place to be. Theres something for everyone. Rotating exhibits are on the third floor, and always has ties to Tampa history; sports, pirates, and pro wrestling are just some of the exhibits theyve had. The second floor has several hands-on exhibits for the family, and the first floor has two theater presentations that are well worth seeing.

Very high quality museum well worth a visit. The exhibits worked great together as well as separate displays. Super friendly staff and really interesting information put forward in a truly professional way. I visited especially for the temporary exhibit on railways through Florida and was not dissatisfied. If anything it opened my eyes to and cemented an interest in cartography, very well put together! The cigar exhibit was great too, I had never before heard anything about the cigar business, marvelous!

If you wanna learn some history, this is the place you NEED to go to!!! I had so much fun! By the way: does Karen still work here??? Haha I didnt see her today! We used to be buddies in college and I hoped I could see her here today...anyways fun place! Will come here again!

This museum is a pleasure to see...I adore their history of Tampa and the surrounding area as well as their revolving exhibits! Because of construction in the area, plan to park near Amalie Arena and walk on the Riverwalk!

Pleasantly surprised by the balanced presentation of in Tampa Bays history from discovery by the Spanish explorers to present day. Four floors of very good displays of artifacts with a multumedia room with presentation on each floor. The interactive pirate adventure on the fourth floor was my favorite! Good for at least two hours of educational entertainment and many more if carefully perused. The giant elevator makes for a great ride as well.

Fabulous! Children would love the pirate ship mini theater and the views from the 3rd floor observation deck are lovely.

Great museum filled with lots of great history. Start by following the Indians and how they survived in Tampa and Florida and go on from there. Gallery of maps of Florida throughout the centuries. We got to experience the newish Pirate exhibit and it didnt disappoint. Lots of great artifacts and a cute movie that is interactive.

Very well put together... absolutely loved the wrestling gallery!!!! And the pirate short film!!!

Wonderful experience. Felt a bit scattered. Definitely will go back. The Columbia restaurant was,as usual, fresh and as delicious as the original even with a limited menu!

Tampa Bay History Center makes for a great family outing. We stopped in for the Brick History event and opted to become members for the added benefits including reciprocity with other local museums and science centers.The engaging exhibits include video and interactive displays making them informative enough for adults and fun for kids. Their regular exhibits cover Florida’s rich history from native peoples to modern times. My boys are looking forward to the upcoming wrestling exhibit in March.You can definitely turn this into a day long event, visiting the museum for 2-3 hours, stopping at the Columbia cafe for lunch and touring around Channelside for an hour or so afterwards.

The Tampa Bay History Center is one of my favorite museums. The staff is friendly, the prices to get in are good and of yeah theres a bar/restaurant. The views from the lobby are amazing and I like the crows nest on the top floor. I have been here plenty of times and will continue to come back.

This is a MUST VISIT in Tampa. Wonderful exhibits and films. It was great to learn more about the area especially not being from the area!

Very well laid out and presented. Be sure to see the pirate exhibit its a swashbuckling good time

A good place to visit with the children. I was expecting a livelier place. If you can visit more places surrounding the Tampa Bay History Museum, your day will be way better.

Great location, nice staff and lovely setting

Came for the Lego exhibit which was nice. There is lots of Florida/Tampa history here to check out. Its a comfortable museum, temperature controlled and easy to get around. There are some fun things for kids to do, but there is lots of reading that is probably more for adults. The pirate section was fun.

Fun for kids and adults alike!!! We didnt get to see all of the exhibits unfortunately, but we still had a good time.

Wow, what an experience! This museum will explain the entire history of Tampa Bay in a simple and engaging way to understand. The view of the port from the observation deck is amazing.

Cool.. nice day to learn and have fun

Nice and well laid out historical museum for Tampa area.

My sons favourite exhibit in the History Center at the moment is the interactive pirate ship. Audience members are given instructions by the crew (screens). Choose directions, shoot the cannon etc. Fun and informative.

Museum of Tampa history going back to explorers with an interior Columbia Restaurant.

When me and my family arrived at the history museum the gallery was fun,clean and a learning experience.But when we got out of the gallery,we were about to sit down and eat at the Cafe inside.We asked one of the workers if we could look at the menu before eating.We sat down at one of the tables to look and the lady came up to us and said You cant sit here unless you want to eat or dine in. We were all very upset because she was assuming we werent going to eat there.So that resulted in us not eating there because of the service.Like cmon at least let us sit down on a very hard rainy day with barely anybody there.Do you wanna make money or not?

Interesting museum. We spent about 3.5 hours there and could have stayed a bit longer. Especially informative exhibits on the Seminoles. Unless you want to eat at the Cuban restaurant at the museum, you probably should eat before arriving. There were no low cost dining options nearby.

Great,casual place on the river walk.

Interesting local museum, lots of rich history for Tampa, Ybor and the bay area. Check it out if you want to learn about this cities historic roots.

Beautiful! Clean, comfortable..with amazing views

Great friendly staff. Loved the pirate ship on the top floor

Fun and interactive. Bueatiful place in downtown Tampa Bay

Another fun day in Tampa, museum located right off free trolley. Very interesting exhibits with pirate the best for me. Columbia restaurant has a smaller version type cafe which smelled so good. Folks the worked there so helpful and received a nice military discount.

Beautiful museum. Had a great time. Very clean.

Had fun here. Saw the wrestling special presentation. Also really enjoyed the Pirate floor. Lots of interesting shipwreck stuff too!!

A good place to visit, Lots of interesting shipwreck stuff too!!

Excellent museum. Good displays and changeable so you go often. With membership you get discounts there and reciprocity at others all over the country plus a newsletter monthly with current and future exhibits.

Just awesome. It shows every details of the history of Tampa Florida. Ships with multidimensional visuality is an unforgettable experience. Drifting the cows is also mindblowing. I usually is not fond of history but I just love this center.

Great museum that provides a complete view into the history of the Tampa area. Everything from geography to cigars. Interactive displays and hands on exhibits add to the level of engagement and enjoyment while learning a fascinating story. There are 3 movies on various topics and all were very well done. The pirate area was particularly fun for the kids. Just a really nice experience overall.

I can’t give it 5 stars, because I wasn’t able to go in. From the outside it looks pretty awesome. I was strolling around River walk and I was able to see it and I was able to see the arena and a few good restaurants.

Friendly staff. The pirate exhibit was a great experience.

We really loved this place when just me and my boyfriend went but then we came back 2 years later with the kids and they loved it too.

Great spot to take the children for a funnday

Took my kids and it was very educational for them. They learned fun facts and enjoyed the educational videos. We also enjoyed the view after. Great place to take your family we enjoyed it.

Excellent history of our region. Hard to keep the timeline straight; exhibits tend to post hole rather than connect. But excellent signage. Accessible. Several exhibits engage kids. Others challenge adults. Recommended for school groups, home schoolers, multi- generational visitors.

Great place to learn about Tampa plus it has a nice view of the basin.

The museum is quite well put together and very informative. Learned a lot about Tampa and Florida’s history dating from Native Americans all the way to present day. The interactive maps and other exhibits were very cool. Anyone visiting these exhibits will be impressed by the amount of information provided and the interesting way it is shown. The layout is very modern and colourful. Staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Well worth a visit

Pretty cool place if you are into local history. It felt like it is a newer museum (or at least recently remodel). When we visited they had a unique pirate excibit. While up there, make sure you check out the crows next balcony they have available.

I try to visit this museum everytime visit Tampa. If you become a member you get a lot of discounts too!

Decent price. I visited on a field trip and learned a lot about Floridas early history within a small time frame. The atmosphere was inviting, the information was plentiful, and the exhibits were top notch.

Three floors of local History very well presented. You can navigate between floors either by stairs or elevator. Nice gift shop in the lobby area as well.

One of the best museums I have ever been to.

Great place! The exhibits are extremely well done and very engaging. Awesome glimpse into Tampas history, and their map collection is so freaking cool! I couldve spent hours looking at all the detailed maps of the area from the past centuries! Fascinating.

We went for the History in Brick Exhibit, but learned so much more! The permanent exhibits are awesome! It is great for all ages!

Its my first visit to the Center and got to find out theres a vast amount of history about Tampa. It took my breath away. My Sister whose visiting from London and I had an amazing time. Great Customer service. Looking forward to visit soon.

Went to the museum while in town on vacation. Being National Museum day on Saturday, we paid the Tampa Bay History Center a visit . Being sponsored by the Smithsonian institute, admissions were free. A lot of items focused on the Seminole Indians, pirates and shipping, African Americans in the Tampa area and how the cigar industry helped to build the area. Since it was free, there was no parking at the museum, so we had to drive a couple of blocks to another garage. Not a very big museum, but worth a visit, many interactive stations for kids and adults alike

We love the History Center! We specifically took our son to see the history built with Legos temporary exhibit, but we like the rest of the museum, too. We always get a bite from The Columbia when were there. Took the Cross Bay Ferry over from St Pete; it was only a 10 minute walk.

Great service and nice historical artifacts of Florida. Expect to pay for parking at the nearby garages and take a short walk to the museum.

Well done history. Plenty of interactive exhibits, well produce movies in high-tech hands on games. Pressing impressive collection of artifacts

Very educational for any age.

Nice & some of the info I already knew & have met some ofem

Really nice exhibits showcasing Tampa history. Nice to come in and then take a walk down the Riverwalk.

Nice place for an afternoon. Bring eyeglass cleaner, youll be reading a lot. The map room is amazing. And I was pleasantly surprised and delighted to see the beautiful sewing and quilt work on display.

Fantastic place, ran out of time to see it all. Parked in ybor city garage, took the trolley downtown and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying and learning from 12,000 years ago to recent Tampa. if you are in Tampa dont miss it.As an aside spend some time at the Lowery zoo if you can.

This was a great place to spend our family day. The museum has done an excellent job at preserving our Tampa history from the Seminole Wars to Pirate Invasions to showcasing historic areas like Ybor. They have a great interactive pirate boat area even for younger children. The multiple shows and interactive areas make this a great destination for any family. You should definitely add this to your to do list for the Tampa area.

The Tampa Bay History Center is a combination of permanent exhibits featuring historical aspects of early Florida as well as rotating exhibits of art, culture, and bay area artifacts. I t has an in depth look at old Tampa, from its time as mostly swamp land up to modern day. Its a good learning experience for kids and a great place to go and reminisce if you have been in the area for a while.

An excellent museum which covers the history of the area from precolonial times, I found it quite educational and especially enjoyed the Ybor cigar factory history and miniature factory mockups. It took my wife and I about 2 hours to walk through, seeing everything, including the specimen drawers with their artifacts. Lighting is a bit dim in many places, so photo-hounds may wish to make sure they have a camera fit for dim light conditions.There is a theater with a good exhibit / display which will explain much of the history. It was calm and uncrowded; my wife & I were practically the only ones there. Theres lots of Indian artifacts and the museum tells the tale of the Spanish invasion quite well, and without bias. The Ybor / Cigar City founding and evolution is treated in detail, with emphasis on how businesses got things started and helped the employees by building a mini-Cuba for them. We were surprised to see some Augusta Block brick in the streets here and there (thats my old hometown, and Augusta Block died decades ago).If you want to learn the history of Tampas founding, this is a good place to start and/or walk off those pounds you might have gained in the Columbia restaurant downstairs. :D

They added a new interactive pirate section. It was very cool but, no matter which choice you chose, the results were the same.

The Pirate exhibit is beyond awesome and being a child of the 70s when wrestling tugged you off your couch LOVED LOVED LOVED their new wrestling exhibit

Great information about Tampa Bay, kids had a great time exploring, onsite restaurant cuban food was delicious and with our membership get discounts to other local musuems!

Its a lovely place but the garbage spreads.

Amazing place. Since 2002 I have seen this place. The new building and exhibits are amazing. Stop by the 4 the floor to see the maritime exhibit. It is amazing!

Long history of the region comes alive through engaging exhibits, presentations, films and interactive displays. Truly a great learning place that tells the story of the area since the pre Columbus days. The displays are interesting enough for the youngest of children yet informative and thoughtful for adults and other history buffs. The iconic Columbia Restaurant has a cafe here serving some of the same dishes as the mother ship. Put this History Center on your itinerary.

Great local museum. Very good displays. Has Columbia restaurant in the lobby.

Really nice and peaceful place to visit

Great historical displays that are interactive and teach the history of Florida, from present day all the way back to European explorers.

The guided tour was amazing!

I really cool museum and good experience, right on the Riverwalk, restaurant attached, great news of the waterfront from the museum, nice way to spend an evening in Tampa Bay.

I learned so much about Tampa area history and Native peoples. The map collection is awesome.

My fiance loves anything history and I usually just go along. Well even I was impressed. Spent a great amount of time on the map floor, but all of it was great, from beer & brewing in Tampa, to treasure seekers. Now members and cant wait to follow along with upcoming exhibits.

Its full of history and the exhibits make learning entertaining! I suggest everyone should go.

Visited the museum on 4th of July. Found the flag exhibit to provide excellent knowledge of the past. My kids loved the pirate floor. Definitely reccomend to visit this museum.

Ive been 2 times and i loved it! My most favorite part is the story of the indian and the soldier

Tampa has a great story and the museum tells it well

An interactive and enlightening history museum. Our docent tour added to the experience and personalized the history on display. Loved it, and its worth repeating!

Very interesting spot. I love museums and this is one of the best.

In Tampa, history is alive! The past and the present merge at the Tampa bay History Center. The history of Florida and Tampa is alive and well. Great place to take kids! And the Columbia Cafe is amazing. The only thing is I wish was the Columbia Cafe to have more indoor seating.

Awsome place to learn

Really helpful front-desk staff - thanks. And great exhibits, too.

Very accommodating staff and lovely place but the service is slow.

Great tour with interesting facts. Cuban sandwiches were so authentic and delicious!! If you have children be sure to ask the desk for the junior historian backpack with extra fun activities for the little ones.

Really cool, it would have been awesome for the museum to add a display on the first commercial flight in the world from 1918 where a seaplane took an hour flight from Tampa to Saint Petersburg, or the other way around, from what i remember is that although now we consider a flight of an hour between those two points in what can be accomplished in half an hour ridiculous, there were no brides that connected the bay therefore it took 23 hours for people to make the trip by automobile, and 3 hours by a steamboat. That trip alone gave birth to commerical airlines that we take for granted. And tbh i love the authentic look the seappanes had.

A great place to spend an afternoon. Tons of exhibits about the Tampa area and other exhibits as well. There is also the Columbia restaurant that serves great food.

Very cool and fun place

Great learning experience with the family. Good price for tickets.

This is a great history center. It is well organized with large section dedicated to native peoples, piracy, cigar history, and Tampa sports.Allow a good two hours for this location. The staff is friendly and the facility is wheelchair friendly.You can either pay to park or theres a street car stop close by.

Very beautiful and welcoming. My visit today was to make a donation of periodicals on local Indian tribes and artifacts that had been in my family since the early 30s. Mallory was very accommodating and made the donation process easy. Visit soon. Lots of beautiful history to explore. Plus have lunch at the mini Columbia restaurant while youre there.

Very educational.