Young visitors to the Florida Museum of Natural History will soon be able to touch a Tyrannosaurus-rex skull.
The museum’s new Discovery Zone will have an interactive bone zone, where children ages 1 to 8 can explore bones and fossils, said Dale Johnson, the project manager. The museum expects the Discovery Zone to open July 2017.
Construction for the project began Sept. 12 and cost about $2.1 million, she said. Funding for the project began three years ago, with donations coming from the state, large donors and museum guests.
The construction won’t interfere with the other exhibits, she said, and the cost of building it covers supplies and construction.
“We don’t compromise on science, safety or accuracy,” Johnson said.
The room will also have an interactive wind tunnel, a dissecting microscope connected to a high-definition screen and a meteorite that weighs 250 pounds, she said.
The Discovery Zone will replace the current Discovery Room, a temporary exhibit that opened about three summers ago, she said. The museum wanted to create a permanent place where children could interact with science.
Museum guest Huijing Yang said she’s excited to bring her kids to see the Discovery Zone once it’s completed. She brings her family to the museum three times a week.
“The kids will really like the interactive activities and things they can touch,” Yang said.
