A recent post I made on my travel blog about visiting the concentration camps (would you, or wouldn’t you?) reminded me about The Florida Holocaust Museum located in downtown St. Petersburg. When I was in college a few years ago, I spent an afternoon there by myself as part of an assignment, and now that my children are a bit older, I’d like to take them to experience the museum. There’s a new Anne Frank exhibit starting on September 29th, and running through December 23rd, and I think it’s an excellent way to show my children a bit of history. My girls have read books about Anne Frank, and my son understands a bit about World War II, so this will be a little more knowledge for them.

A History For Today will show the history of Anne Frank and the family’s story before and after the Nazi reign. The exhibit will feature photographs taken by family patriarch Otto Frank of his young daughters, Anne and Margaret. Many of the 70 photographs in the collection have never been seen before. This exhibit will be located on the 2nd floor.

Downstairs, you’ll find the regular exhibit, which at the time I visited, included a real boxcar used to transport Holocaust victims to the concentration camps. The main exhibits include pictures and artifacts from the time, and it’s a very sobering experience. The museum is a place for quiet reflection and reverence, and I urge you NOT to take children who can’t act appropriately.

The Florida Holocaust Museum is located at 55 Fifth Street in St. Petersburg, FL. The museum is open from 10am til 5pm every day, but they are closed on Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and college students, and $4 for students under 18. Children under 16 must be with an adult. Cell phone use, photography, video, and audio recordings are not permitted. Parking is free.