A wide interior photograph showing young children and families playing inside the main exhibit hall at Great Explorations Children's Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. In the center, a multi-story climbing structure wrapped in netting features stacked blue platforms extending toward a high ceiling with exposed metal trusses and track lighting. In the foreground, large blue foam building blocks scattered across a carpeted floor allow children to build structures, alongside a yellow slide and interactive play stations illuminated by bright overhead lights.Great Explorations Children’s Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. Credit: Visit Tampa Bay

Put the tablet down for a few hours and watch your kid play (no, seriously, dad, look at this!). St. Petersburg’s Great Explorations Children’s Museum waives admission for the morning and invites families to take part in STEAM activities (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) happening throughout the venue.

Meant to raise funds and awareness for the museum’s Great Explorations’ educational programs, little ones can try their hands at robotics, art, demos and engineering challenges.

There’s no cover, but advance registration is required, when St. Petersburg’s Great Explorations Children’s Museum hosts Ignite! science festival on Saturday, Aug. 22.

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This article appears in August 20 – 26, 2026.

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Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief…
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