Being able to partner with Viaja San Agustín (and Florida’s Historic Coast) as a U.S. Hispanic Ambassador for Florida’s Historic Coast, we were able to experience how wonderful St. Augustine and Florida’s Historic Coast area was for couples to relax and rejuvenate together and for multigenerational family vacations.
Located midway between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, Florida’s Historic Coast includes historic St. Augustine, the outstanding golf and seaside elegance of Ponte Vedra and 42 miles of pristine Atlantic beaches. But…did you know that St. Augustine and Florida’s Historic Coast is prefect for students and homeschool families too?! History lessons come alive when you see and touch colonial architecture from 450 years ago, walk on the same brick-lined streets that once only horse and carriages traveled and experience the storied collection of historic sites.
DID YOU KNOW? St. Augustine is the birthplace of the U.S. Hispanic Heritage! By the time the first English settlement in the new world was established at Jamestown, Va., St. Augustine had been a thriving coastal town for more than 40 years. Founded by Spanish explorer Pedro Menendez de Aviles in 1565, the influence of Spanish history in St. Augustine is still evident today, more than four centuries later. From the Fountain of Youth, which Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon legends are made of, to Castillo de San Marcos, the massive fortress which helped protect Spain’s treasures, St. Augustine celebrates its Hispanic heritage. It’s been more than 450 years since Pedro Menendez de Aviles founded the coastal town, and today visitors can revel in the culture thanks to attractions (some new, like the Colonial Quarter, but most centuries old), restaurants and events celebrating Spanish history.
St. Augustine is one of the most family-friendly cities in the United States, exciting kids of all ages with its vast array of historic and natural treasures. The following is list of our 10 must-experience attractions for homeschoolers and students:
1.
Oldest Wooden School House Historic Museum and Gardens
Let your first lesson in history start at The Oldest Wooden School House! Listen to the animated schoolmaster and his pupils as they depict what school life was like in the 1700s. See genuine artifacts and items from the original schoolhouse. Compare your school days with those of the old days! This original building is more than 200 years old and made of red cedar and cypress and is a true historic treasure. Old School Gifts features colonial toys, teacher gifts and one-of-a-kind handmade souviners. Don’t forget to get your “diploma” after finishing the tour!
2.
If you ever wanted to feel what its like to step back in time, touch real historical artifacts and get a glimpse of centuries past then Castillo de San Marcos is a must-see. National monument, the Castillo de San Marcos, is the oldest masonry Fort in the United States and the only standing 17th century military construction. It is also one of two forts built of coquina, a soft limestone composed of broken shells. This native material gave the Spanish a special advantage. Instead of cracking or collapsing, coquina walls absorbed or deflected enemy projectiles allowing the Spanish to guard their possessions and keep their people safe. Standing since 1695, it was incredible to stand inside this magnificent fort, see real canons, learn in the exhibits about the history of the fort and the soldiers that once guarded the city, all while overlooking the beautiful St. Augustine Bay.
3.
St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum
Ever want to board a pirate ship or know how heavy real pirate treasure weighs? Now you can and a lot more at St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum! Its truly remarkable to see all around you the world’s largest collection of authentic pirate artifacts. You can see how pirates slept, what they dressed like and experienced life while standing aboard a pirate ship—even seeing one of only two existing 17th century Jolly Rogers. Paying homage to pirates such as Sir Francis Drake and Robert Searles who frequented St. Augustine and the Spanish fort, the Castillo de San Marcos, played a major role in the history of pirates and Colonial America.
The St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum offers an exciting and educational museum experience that transports families back in time over 300 years to Port Royal, Jamaica, at the height of the Golden Age of Piracy. The museum has so many fun and interactive exhibits like sounds of Blackbeard’s last battle, which the teen and the kids were more than happy to “fire” the real sounding canons. St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum also houses the world’s only pirate treasure chest. They even have a Hollywood memorabilia section, including props, dedicated to the many films and shows featuring pirates like Pirates of the Caribbean.
4.
Potter’s Wax Museum, the first wax museum in the U.S., is home to more than 160 different wax figures, including Potter’s original collection-each one an authentic life-sized recreation of the men and women they represent! The Museum features interactive displays and lots of opportunities for guests to take pictures of themselves with famous characters out of history and the movies including famous Hollywood celebrities, professional all-star athletes, and political figures. Bring your camera, as the figures make for a great photo opportunity.
5.
Spanish Military Hospital Museum
Travel back in time to the Spanish Military Hospital Museum where the doctor is always in. The 45 minute educational tour provides a memorable and entertaining living history experience. Students will thrill as their adventure into the past begins as our skilled surgeons perform virtual surgery on a lucky volunteer. Watch as the apothecary creates medicines and discover how colonial herbs were the origins of some of the most popular medicines today! Uncover how Spanish physicians wove together knowledge from Europe and Africa to achieve an astonishing survival rate.
Students will learn:
1. The importance of education, cleanliness and good health practices
2. Modern use for colonial medicines
3. Florida’s Colonial periods.
The Spanish Military Hospital Museum is St Augustine’s only exclusive second Spanish period educational tour.
6.
The Oldest House Museum Complex is owned and operated by the St. Augustine Historical Society. Admission to the Oldest House Museum Complex includes a guided tour of Florida’s Oldest House, a museum, a changing exhibit gallery, an ornamental garden, and a museum store. The Oldest House is Florida’s oldest Spanish Colonial dwelling and a National Historic Landmark offering guided tours daily.
As you stroll through this amazing structure, you’ll learn about the Spanish, British and American occupations of St. Augustine and gain insight into what life was like for the colonists during those times. Also, take time to see the Manucy Museum, where a comprehensive exhibition reveals more than 400 years of Florida history, including the enthralling past of the Oldest House and its residents.
7.
Built in 1891, the Old Jail was designed to look like a fine hotel (it has a front porch, and it’s pink!), but a real frontier-era jail inside. Henry Flagler located the Queen Anne-style building at a good distance from his gilded-era hotels. Today, visitors to the Old Jail can take a guided tour with costumed “deputies” or “inmates”, learn about the many prisoners and practices that took place here and see where the Sheriff and his wife and family lived— adjacent to where the prisoners were housed. Meet Sheriff Joe Perry who had a reputation as being a harsh and strict warden – one of the toughest in the South. Walk through the men’s and women’s cells and discover the history behind judicial practices in the 19th century and see an array of weapons and artifacts. Out back, the gallows are a reminder of where executions took place in the gallows, and help explain why the Old Jail is now listed on the National Register of Haunted Places.
8.
Oldest Store Museum Experience
Watch in amazement as friendly clerks and snake oil salesman demonstrate the very latest inventions for turn-of-the-century living. Step back in time and discover the latest and best time saving miracles from 1900 like goat-powered washing machine and a gas powered iron! It’s truly like walking into a Sears Roebuck catalog from 1908 with steam-driven tractors, tonics, worm syrup, guns, bikes and so much more.
9.
Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park
Visit America’s First Colony! Founded by Pedro Menendez on the actual site 42 years before Jamestown and 55 years before Plymouth Rock, The Fountain of Youth is the first settlement area in the nation’s oldest city. Its is a beautiful 60-year old coquina building that encompasses the original spring that Ponce De Leon made famous. With signed guest books stretching back to 1868, the Fountain of Youth is the oldest attraction in Florida, and the Spring House is the centerpiece of the historical Juan Ponce de Leon experience at the Park. The spring comes forth directly from the Floridan aquifer, which lies below ground under much of North Florida. The water contains over 30 minerals and the spring would have been the perfect replenishment site for Juan Ponce de Leon’s ships upon landing on Florida’s shores 500 years ago. It was an amazingly surreal experience to know that you can walk on the same grounds Ponce de Leon once walked and drink from the same waters that he discovered centuries ago.
The Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park is a 15-acre, waterfront historical attraction, where visitors can learn about the first Spanish settlers who came here in the 1600s and the native Timucuans who were here to greet them. With a working archaeological dig on site, as well as several re-created Spanish and Timucuan buildings and dwellings, the park is bursting with history.
You can walk among the Timucuan Indian Village of Seloy, touching their huts, learning how they lived, what they ate and how daily life was for them during those times. It’s also just a beautiful spot to relax, enjoy the views over the water from the 600-foot Founders Riverwalk or from the Observation Tower. The Fountain of Youth offers a variety of shows and living history reenactments designed to entertain and educate visitors—the Planetarium, the two-story Discovery Globe mapping the routes of the early explorers, the Timucuan Village, and the reconstructed First Mission of Nombre de Dios. For a special treat, hear the Spanish Cannons being fired and roaring loudly. When Pedro Menedez de Aviles landed here on September 8, 1565, he brought 20 artillery pieces with him to protect the fledgling settlement. The Fountain of Youth Park has a replica of one of those six-pounder guns, and they give hourly demonstrations about the history of their use in the settlement of St. Augustine. Nothing can compare to the sound and feel of artillery—the roar and smell of the powder transports you back to a time when a small band of Spanish soldier-farmers faced an uncertain future in a new land that was naturally rich, but filled with hostile and potentially lethal threats. Additional weapons demonstrations include arquebus gun lectures and firing and period crossbow demonstrations. With a long, rich history spanning nearly 500 years, the Fountain of Youth Park will delight and amaze you!
10.
St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum
Did You Know? St. Augustine has a real working lighthouse! The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, Inc. is a private, non-profit museum dedicated to its mission “to discover, preserve, present and keep alive the stories of the nation’s oldest port as symbolized by the working St. Augustine Lighthouse. From the breathtaking views of Northeast Florida to the artifacts recovered from our ancestors’ vessels, the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum covers centuries of history from in and around St. Augustine, Florida. The gorgeous lighthouse offers much to see like an 1876 lighthouse keepers’ house, nature trails, shipyard playarea for kids, and is home to the new Wrecked! exhibit.
The Wrecked! exhibit is where visitors discover St. Augustine’s ties to the American Revolutionary War in this new, interactive exhibition. Visitors can view artifacts from a 1782 British loyalist shipwreck found in St. Augustine and learn how underwater archaeologists locate historic shipwrecks on the ocean floor.
Visitors can climb 219 steps up the historic lighthouse to see amazing views of St. Augustine. We climbed the 219 steps to get to the top and it was worth every step! The top of the St. Augustine Lighthouse is the best place to see a 360 degree view of the city.
*BONUS*
St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park
The St. Augustine Alligator Farm is now the only facility in the world exhibiting living specimens of all 24 currently recognized species of crocodilian. The zoological park functions as a modern zoo serving the public and the scientific community with educational shows and exhibits, important research, and worldwide conservation efforts. The Alligator Farm’s history as an attraction and an accredited zoo is nearly as exciting as zipping across the Alligator Lagoon on Crocodile Crossing, the park’s thrilling zip-line attraction. Students and homeschoolers will certainly enjoy the unique opportunity to be up close and personal with amazing alligators and wildlife.
DID YOU KNOW? Students, education groups, homeschoolers. etc., can see historic attractions on the Old Town Trolley Tours of St. Augustine.
The Old Town Trolley has field trip tours like Discovery Tour, which includes a one hour narrated trolley tour, a tour of the Castillo de San Marcos and a pick two of the following four museum tours: the Old Jail Museum, the Oldest Store Museum Experience, Potter’s Wax Museum or the Florida Heritage Museum. The cost is $38.50 for adults and $26 for elementary students. The minimum needed to qualify for these rates is 20 paying people. Old Town Trolley Tours of St. Augustine offer 1 teacher per 20 students, complimentary admission. We try to schedule your tour so that the trolley can get you from place to place. Custom itineraries can be created, i.e., Spanish themed field trip. They also offer lunch for $8 per person with choices from Chick-Fil-A , Honey Baked Ham, Subway or Five Star Pizza or students can bring bag lunches. A picnic area is available at Stop #1 to enjoy lunch.
Plan a visit to Florida’s Historic Coast and take advantage of special offers and themed packages for visitors and students. For more information on events, activities, holiday getaways, accommodations and to plan your vacation in St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches, go to the Visitors and Convention Bureau website at www.FloridasHistoricCoast.com or call 1.800.653.2489.
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Happy Field Trip!
Disclosure: As the U.S. Hispanic Ambassador for Florida’s Historic Coast, this is sponsored content.
Any opinions stated here are our own.
[…] If you are looking for family fun while learning about history in the nation’s oldest city, see our list of 10 must see attractions in St. Augustine, Florida. […]