This is the first of its kind in the United States, and Florida seems an appropriate location for a museum dedicated to mosquitoes.
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The First Coast's newest science museum is one of its kind in the United States.
Locally it is called the Mosquito Museum, but its actual name is the Disease Vector Education Center.
It opened to the public this month in St. Augustine.
The new interactive insect experience includes games, a microscope, videos, a toddler area, and a laboratory with real Skeeter scientists.
The highlight inside the museum might be the helicopter inside the building. It's similar to the spray you use to repel mosquitoes. Visitors can sit inside and feel like a pilot. A large screen in front of the helicopter displays a video of the local scenery as if you were flying over it.
The Anastasia Mosquito Control District is a taxpayer-supported organization that provides mosquito control and research in St. Johns County. This new museum was built on his EOC Drive along State Route 16 in St. Augustine.
Trish Becker is a museum volunteer and an elected Anastasia Mosquito Control District Commissioner.
Her committee was criticized for spending $4 million in taxpayer money to build a mosquito museum.
Becker's response: “This is more than just a museum. This is an education center. And the whole purpose of this building is to comply with the Florida statutes that we enforce.”
And she said part of that mission is education.
“We want this to be a place where you can come and learn and, more importantly, have fun while learning,” Becker said. “And getting people interested in these different industries. So there's a huge shortage of pilots. There's a shortage of scientists. We need people in these fields. Masu.”
A group of children fresh out of the museum shared their thoughts with First Coast News.
One boy said, “I think it was really fun.''
Another said: “It was fun and there's also a corn toss to keep out the rain, like throwing bean bags. It's like putting pesticides in the storm drains.” That same child said he learned that mosquitoes can spread malaria.
Another child talked about a microscope, a live bee colony (behind glass), and a collection of different insects.
“It was much better than I expected. I learned a lot,” her mother told First Coast News.
Admission to the Disease Vector Education Center is free through July.
Click here for more information.
