While the Florida Museum of Natural History’s exhibits building is under renovation, staff have continued to innovate unique ways to promote science via pop-ups and offsite programming.
One way staff have gone out and brought the Florida Museum to the community is through pop-up gift shops. This allows guests to continue supporting the museum and engaging with us ahead of the museum’s reopening.
In the Swamp
The Spring Plant Sale has continued for those wanting to spruce up their garden with native and ornamental plants. A new twist to these sales has been the inclusion of the pop-up gift shops with an array of goodies like T-shirts, socks, educational toys and more. While the main attraction continued to be the thousands of available plants, attendees also had the opportunity to browse over 100 products from the gift shop.
The museum has also begun to participate in the monthly Gator Markets that take place at the Reitz Union’s North Lawn throughout the spring and fall semesters.
With the attention of UF students, the museum was able to draw in almost 14,000 attendees on campus, selling nearly 1,000 goodies across nine events.
Out on the Town
Beyond the Gator Nation, the museum’s gift shops have been busy expanding into other areas of Gainesville like farmers markets and festivals.
Some of the places the museum has popped up include the Grove Street Farmers Market, 5th Avenue Arts Festival, Lubee Bat Conservancy’s Bat Festival and Gainesville Unplugged.
Starting back in April 2025 and continuing into June 2026, these pop-up gift shops have reached over 20,000 people and sold over 1,700 items around Alachua County. With many more chances to get some cool gifts and support the museum before our reopening, feel free to stop by at our next pop-up!
To learn more about where the museum will be for future events, check out our calendar, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on social media.
