Keys History & Discovery Center — Attraction in Islamorada

A hidden gem, full of unique history of Flagler’s Overseas Railroad, the Labor Day hurricane of 1935, and a glimpse into the unique geography of this region.

I live in Key West and have learned much about the Overseas Railroad through museums there. The film here was more in-depth and gave a broader perspective of the workers, as well as the importance of this project during the time of the creation of the Panama Canal, the building of the Titanic, and the construction of the NY City subways.

I loved the film with interviews of hurricane survivors. So glad their stories are preserved! The final film with a glimpse into the nearby state parks was a treat, too.

I was bothered by the closed captioning being of such inferior quality, while the films themselves were superior. I had difficulty understanding two of the people interviewed and relied on the captioning. If I were not familiar with place names in the keys - which I had to decipher from the misspellings and wrong words - I would have been lost as to what these two gentlemen were saying.

The artifacts and aquariums downstairs were well done and beautiful. Friendly woman at the entry, a wide variety of books for sale, and a relaxing place to spend time. Very clean! I look forward to returning to support this...

This place is a bit overpriced for what it is. it's 15$ per person for what is essentially a decorated living room with 2 fish tanks. Although that might be a bit of an exaggeration, it is not that much of one. If you don't read every last sign there is, it takes 15 seconds to walk the entirety of the first floor. I can not emphasize enough just how tiny it is. There are screen crammed next to each other that give you more information about each topic, but for $15 a ticket, just look it up on Google. Additionally, the second floor was a shabby art gallery and a small theater. The theater was actually not bad if it was not for the fact that they show old documentaries that cover some of the most uninteresting topics. Rather than playing documentaries about the wild life and culture of the keys, it is two old documentaries about a train railroad and the effects of a hurricane that hit. Although both are interesting in their own right, they feel out of place at a keys...

My dad enjoyed it a lot more than me, you can spend a long time walking through if you want to read every plaque and watch every video, but if you aren't really into that, there's still a mini art gallery on the upper floor and a movie theater with at least two 30 minute movies to enjoy (there might be more but we only stayed for those). There are also three large aquariums with a variety of organisms, including shrimp, lobster, fish, sea urchins, hermit crabs, and more! I probably spent the most time there because the employee started feeding them, but to most it will be a brief part of the journey. Anyways, it was definitely worth the visit, a worthy investment of time if you like museums, aquariums, or...