The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

Was looking for something to do after being sunburned, much needed break from it. Enjoyed this very much. You can easily get about 2 to 3 miles of walking if you decide to include the mansion and go through the garden along along with the private art collection.

So much history here to appreciate. Props from the circus was a nice touch. My favorite part of all was the scale model of the circus. This is nothing like what I thought. After seeing the model rendering of this, I had a new found appreciation as to why this was such a big deal. It's like nothing I've seen before. I understand the impression this left on people who got to witness this show in person. Why people would say they would join the circus. Why when they say "the main tent" you can see which one they are referring to. All this from the scale model.

There is a few interactive parts to this museum but I could see kids potentially wanting more. I was able to play with a foam launcher that mimics the cannon ball shot with the man inside (very small), able to do a tie rope walk except its metal and about 2 inches above the ground and a few movies to watch. You can also climb into a clown car and stand on a horse for photos. The horse is almost completely submerged into the ground so it's very safe to stand on you only see it's head and top of its back.

Great on a rainy day, or when you've had enough sun and need a break. Honestly it's worth checking out at least once. It's a part of history with such interesting facts. If your going with kids for kids you could save some money and skip the mansion house.