Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center Unveils Permanent Exhibit on November 17Pinellas County's celebrated preserve opens a window to reveal the ecological and cultural footprint of early Tampa Bay ancestorsTravel through time and space to explore underwater life and terrain, journey through mangrove swamps and even visit a replica ancient habitation site. Connecting People and Place tells a story with sights and sounds that exists nowhere else. Staged among six galleries, the exhibition is an art-inspired, hands-on educational approach to the area's history, ecology and the relationship people have with the ecology of Tampa Bay and beyond. Pinellas County's Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center opens this much anticipated permanent exhibit to the public at 10 a.m., Saturday, November 17, in St. Petersburg. The installation of Connecting People and Place represents the completion of the Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center, a nationally recognized exhibition and education facility that opened its doors in the fall of 2002. The vision was to establish an educational institution, comprised of a public center for vital educational programs, a research and reference library, a series of interpretive trail signs and an exhibition with a focus on the natural history of Weedon Island Preserve and Tampa Bay, the historical significance of the Weeden Island Culture that spanned throughout Florida and southern Georgia and Alabama, and the recent history of Weedon Island. Planning, development and work on the center have spanned nearly a decade. Weedon Island Preserve is an expansive 3,700 acres, comprised of marine ecosystems with some uplands-a site rich in Native American history. The preserve is open to the public from dawn to dusk seven days a week and offers many outdoor activities. The 17,000-square-foot Cultural and Natural History Center is open Wednesdays to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., but closed Mondays, Tuesdays and holidays. Admission is free. The center is one of two premiere education centers for the county's Environmental Lands Division. The preserve is located at 1800 Weedon Drive N.E. in St. Petersburg.
|