Guide to Orlando's best museums

Orlando offers a diverse range of museums, including everything from the world's most comprehensive collection of Tiffany works to the wax celebrities at Madame Tussauds.

If you're looking for a break from the amusement parks, here is a guide to Orlando's best museums.

The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of Modern Art
445 N. Park Ave., Winter Park
407-645-5311
http://morsemuseum.org/

The Morse Museum is perhaps best known for having the world's most comprehensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany. These include jewelry, pottery, paintings, leaded glass lamps and windows, as well as his opulent, colorful chapel piece that was designed for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The museum also houses collections of American pottery and 19th and 20th century American paintings.

The Morse Museum is open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with Friday hours extended until 8 p.m. from November through April. It's open from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays and is closed on Mondays and most major holidays. Admission is discounted for seniors age 60 and older and students with valid ID. All visitors are admitted free from 4 to 8 p.m. on Fridays from November through April.

Skeletons: Museum of Osteology
8441 International Drive Suite 250, Orlando
407-203-6999
http://skeletonmuseum.com/about-orlando.php

This family-owned museum is not only an Orlando best museum, it's also one of the most unusual. It's one of only two skeleton museums in the U.S. and is home to over 500 animal skeletons. Their exhibits are modeled after the living animals' habitats, and the museum aims to educate and also raise awareness about conservation.

Youth ages 3-11 receive discounted admission and kids under 3 are admitted free. Admission prices vary according to the date and type of ticket purchased. A day pass, which restricts you to a specific day, is the cheapest option. You can also buy a day pass that includes a gift shop credit and a pass that allows you to visit on any day.

Orlando Science Center
777 E. Princeton St., Orlando
407-514-2000
http://www.osc.org/

The museum has a variety of experiences, including interactive exhibit halls that focus on such topics as NatureWorks, DinoDigs and Our Planet. Science Live! offers live programs that let you do everything from watching an alligator feeding to participating in science-focused tabletop demonstrations. Programs include the WFTV Severe Weather Center 9 Experience, which is a working replica of the TV station's weather set. You'll learn how to put a forecast together and then practice it in front of the green screen.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Mondays-Thursdays, from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Youth ages 3-11, students with ID and seniors age 55 and older receive reduced admission. Members and kids age 2 and under are admitted free.

Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens
633 Osceola Ave., Winter Park
407-647-6294
http://polasek.org/

Explore the home, galleries and sculpture garden of Czech sculptor Albin Polasek. The sculpture garden is a place to reflect and relax, and it also features native Florida and subtropical plants as well as Polasek's sculptures. In addition to Polasek's home, the museum features the historic Capen-Showalter House, which was relocated to the museum by floating it in two halves down Lake Osceola.

Seniors 60 and over, college students with ID and students in kindergarten through 12th grade receive discounted admission. Members and children age 4 and under are admitted free. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays-Saturdays and from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. It's closed on Mondays.

Madame Tussauds
8387 International Drive, Orlando (in the ICON Orlando complex.)
https://www.madametussauds.com/

Madame Tussauds isn't one of your typical Orlando best museums, since it features incredibly lifelike wax figures of celebrities, actors and actresses, singers, sports figures and leaders from throughout history. Visitors enjoying seeing the realism of the figures and taking selfies with them.

>>Guide to Madame Tussauds in Orlando

The museum's opening hours vary throughout the year, and the last ticket is sold one hour before closing. Booking a ticket online gets you a discount. Other discounts, such as one for Florida residents, are also available.

Cox Media Group