| TOP JACKSONVILLE AREA ATTRACTIONS |
| Alltel Stadium (Jacksonville Municipal Stadium) |
Alltel Stadium (Jacksonville Municipal Stadium) is a football stadium located in downtown Jacksonville, Florida next to the St. Johns River. It is the home stadium facility of the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL franchise. The stadium sits on 10 acres (40,000 mē) of land and originally had a capacity of 73,000. Expansions over the next decade have brought capacity to 76,877.
Municipal Stadium is used primarily as a football facility but does host other events including monster truck shows and concerts. It is also well-known for hosting college football, including "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" each year between Florida and Georgia. The stadium is also the site of the annual Gator Bowl which currently pits teams from the Big East and Atlantic Coast Conference. In December 2005, Alltel Stadium hosted the inaugural ACC football championship game.
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| Museum of Contemporary Art |
| The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville is housed in the renovated historic Western Union Telegraph Building. The permanent collection features local and Florida contemporary artworks along with more than 1,000 pieces of pre-Columbian art. The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville also hosts several traveling exhibitions per year in its nearly 30,000 square feet of gallery space. It began as the Jacksonville Fine Arts Society back in 1924 and has undergone a number of incarnations in its history. |
| Fort Caroline |
| 10 mi. east of the city centre is a reconstruction of the historic old Fort Caroline. In the 16th C French Huguenots attempted to establish a settlement in this area. Here too, in 1565, took place the first clash between France and Spain on the American continent. |
| Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum |
| The Karpeles Manuscript Library contains a large and valuable collection of original historical manuscripts. Most of the library's rare books come from the late 1800's to early 1900's. There are Medical and Science works, History texts, Literature, Anthropological studies, and Religious tracts. The Library also hosts traveling exhibitions. There are seven museums associated with the Library and exhibitions tour from one to another periodically. Some of the most valuable manuscripts in the library's collection include the original draft of the "Bill of Rights of the United States", the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Lincoln and Einstein's description of his "Theory of Relativity". |
| Jacksonville Zoological Gardens |
| Jacksonville Zoological Garden is home to more than 800 mammals, birds, invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles live here, some in areas designed to duplicate their natural habitats. One of the highlights of this 72-acre zoo is the "African Veldt," with an elevated boardwalk over animals found on the African savannah such as lions, gazelles and ostriches. Jacksonville Zoological Garden also offers a petting zoo for children and a reconstruction of an African village called Okavango. It has a free-flight aviary and sits on the edge of the Trout River. Other exhibits at the zoo include the "Great Apes of the World" and the "Seronera Overlook Elephant Exhibit." Visitors can also see some of the zoo exhibits via a half hour long train ride. |
| The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens |
| Visit this beautiful estate, on the St Johns River, which has 12 galleries and more than 5,000 items. There is a famous collection of 18th Century Meissen porcelains, a teaching gallery for children and 3 acres of wonderful gardens. In the gardens you will see the amazing Cummer Oak, the much photographed, ancient and huge live oak tree. |
| Jacksonville Museum of Science and History |
| A permanent Civil War exhibit, natural history displays and tools to explore the world of physical and natural science are highlights of the Museum of Science & History in Jacksonville. There are a number of exhibits on the ecology and environment of the surrounding region, notably the "Mammals of Northeast Florida" exhibit. Others detail the human history of the area, for example, the life of the Timucuan Native peoples who lived here before the Spanish Conquest. The The Alexander Brest Planetarium presents daily multimedia shows and visitors can gaze at the stars or learn about astronomy. |
| Obi-Scott-Umunna Collection of African Art |
| Located in Centennial Hall on Edward Waters College campus is the Obi-Scott-Umunna Collection of African Art. Masks, musical instruments, bronze statuettes, carved ivory and many other artifacts represent artistic traditions that have thrived in Central and West Africa. |
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