Florida State University

Located in central Tallahassee is the nationally ranked Florida State University, a Florida public school of higher education founded in 1851. The school is recognized as an authority on research, academics, and competitive athletic programs by leading institutions such as the Carnegie Foundation and The US News and World Report. The school has a student body size of nearly 41,000 a year with 314 degree programs, counting public figures such as Sara Blakely (founder of Spanx), Richard Simmons (fitness personality), Jim Morrison (former singer for The Doors), and Burt Reynolds (Film Star) as notable alumni. As one of the oldest colleges in the state of Florida, FSU has built a robust school for higher education and have been made responsible for the governance of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.

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in town!

Challenger Musuem & IMAX Theatre (with A&A section)

A family visit to Tallahassee isn't complete without a stop by the state-of-the-art Challenger Learning Center/IMAX Theatre located in downtown Tallahassee. The center features many hands-on and lecture-style exhibits including a space mission simulator, a space station laboratory, a planetarium, and the largest IMAX 3D theatre in northern Florida. Parents and children will enjoy the exciting displays of the history and development of modern science and technology.

John G. Riley Center/Museum

Located in the former downtown African American community Smokey Hollow is the John G. Riley Center/Museum of African-American History and Culture. The museum is the former home of John G. Riley, a Tallahassee educator and civic leader, who built the house in 1890. With a growing fan base, the museum has actively engaged in community education programs with the completion of a new visitor's center behind the original structure and has become a Tallahassee landmark with its inclusion in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

The Florida Capitol

Historic Capitol Musuem

As the former House chambers, Senate chambers and Supreme Court, the Florida Historic Capitol Museum was a former government office that was restored to its original 1902 appearance by Tallahassee citizens when the structure was faced with demolition. The campaign to preserve The Old Capitol was highly successful leading to the development of the recognizable stained glass dome, the candy-stripped window awnings, and the new Florida Legislative Research Center and Museum. Guests visit the museum to learn the history of Florida state government from the days as a US territory to present day through the hundreds of artifacts and room exhibits.

The Capitol Complex

The Capitol Complex is a legislative and executive office park that replaced the Historic Capitol after rapid population growth required the expansion of government services for the state of Florida. The office park is part of the government district of Tallahassee commonly referred to as the Capitol Center which includes the primary 22-story Capitol building, Senate and House chambers, the Supreme Court, the Knott Building, the Old Capitol museum, and other state-owned facilities. The main building includes office space for state legislative and executive officials as well as community spaces open to the public such as a memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, award halls like the Women's Hall of Fame, the Fallen Firefighters Wall of Fame, the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, the Florida Welcome Center, and public art galleries.