Summer Hiatus Comes to an End

While many students prepare to end their summer hiatus and return to school, everyone else can climb aboard the education express and explore some of the unique learning experiences available in and around the City Beautiful.

Don’t wait for a black history month celebration to increase your knowledge, check out the Wells’ Built Museum of African American History and Culture. Located at 511 W. South Street, the museum is open Monday through Friday from 9 am until 5pm and offers a wealth of information about the contributions and history of African Americans in Orlando. The Wells’ Built Museum is free of charge for all who enter however donations are suggested. To learn more, go to www.wellsbuiltmuseum.com.

The Harry T. & Harriette V. Moore Memorial Park & Museum, 2180 Freedom Ave, Mims, FL 32754,   commemorates the slain couples’ legacy as pioneers in the civil rights movement. Set on the property of the original Moore family home site, the highly accessible complex houses a museum, a 100-seat conference center, a gift shop and a small reference library. The featured exhibit at the museum is a timeline of the Civil Rights Movement, from the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, to the Civil Rights Act of July 2, 1964. Depicted parallel to other events of national renown in American history are the major contributions of Harry and Harriette Moore.  The conference center screens educational films for all ages and hosts lectures and cultural events. The park is the ideal setting family reunions, concerts and other outdoor activities including the annual Heritage Freedom 5K Run/Walk. On the grounds of the park and museum, a civil rights trail with kiosks providing historical information about the civil rights movement and the Moore’s contributions is featured.  Stops on a 25-minute bus tour between Mims and North Titusville take visitors to the Moore’s church, to a warehouse where their orange crops were sold and to the gravesites of the couple and their youngest daughter, Evangeline Moore.  The less than 50-minute drive from Orlando to Mims is well worth it to learn about couple who some call the earliest martyrs of the civil rights movement.   For additional information call 321-264-6595 or visit https://civilrightstrail.com/attraction/harry-t-harriette-v-moore-memorial-park-museum/.

If you’re looking for the unusual, Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Orlando Odditorium is a museum that houses a collection of oddities that include shrunken heads and incredible artwork.  You will discover the strange, the shocking and the beautiful at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! on I-Drive. Enjoy incredible eye-popping exhibits where you can pose with the world’s tallest man, lose yourself in mind-boggling illusions, and see a ‘vampire killing kit’.  Visitors agree it’s an interesting and fun experience.  The museum, located at 8201 International Drive in Orlando, boasts great parking and a friendly staff.  Visit https://www.ripleys.com/orlando/attractions to learn more about the Odditorium and how you can book your visit.

These experiences are guaranteed to increase your knowledge of Orlando, raise your curiosity and leave you thirsty for more. Enjoy the ride!

About the Author

Sharon Fletcher Jones is a true Libra, an action-ist, and a budget fashionista.  The Portsmouth, Virginia native is also an employment specialist with Goodwill Industries, a life coach and an associate editor at ONYX Magazine. Stacey’s mom (literally) has got it going on.  Fletcher Jones’ personal mantra is “It’s the dash that counts.”