All exhibits are free and open to the public during the same hours as the building in which they are housed, unless otherwise specified and with occasional exceptions for maintenance.
Florida House on Capitol Hill | March 3, 2025 – December 31, 2025
Sunshine Stories: Maps from Smathers Libraries
Maps of Florida tell stories of battles, exploration, growth, and advertisement. They
reflect centuries of change and discovery. The maps in this traveling exhibit are only some of the
stories of the Sunshine State. Curated by Carol McAuliffe, Map Librarian and designed by Lourdes Santamaría-Wheeler, Exhibits Director.
Smathers Library Gallery | February 3, 2025 – April 25, 2025
We are the Girls of Old Florida
Even before the University of Florida’s (UF) founding in 1905, the women in UF’s community were and continue to be resilient advocates for and agents of transformation. This exhibit honors these women students who carved their own path at UF as their voices shifted from the margins to the center of campus life. Curated by Dalia Bronisas Dooley and Sarah Coates.
Albert H. Nahmad Panama Canal Gallery | April 6, 2024 – March 7, 2025
Track Changes
Long before a canal cut across the Isthmus of Panama, the first transcontinental railroad charted a similar path between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Built 1850-1855, the Panama Railroad transformed the country’s physical and economic landscape. It propelled Panama into a future of exponential importance as a global crossroad and a tumultuous relationship with the United States that lasted 150 years. The impacts, for better and worse, were profound. Curated by Elizabeth Bemis.
Latin American and Caribbean Collection | January 28, 2025 – March 17, 2025
El Centenario de José Martí: historia y tesoro de una biblioteca
Considered by many the national hero of Cuba, José Martí (1853-1895) was a patriot and a renowned writer. In 1953, Cuba celebrated the 100th anniversary of Martí’s birth. Cuban officials wrote to María Mantilla de Romero, his presumed daughter, detailing their plans. As part of the celebration, they proposed a national library named in his honor: la Biblioteca Nacional de Cuba José Martí. Curated by Margarita Vargas-Betancourt.
Education Library | November 15, 2O24 – February 17, 2025
Museum Wonderlands in Children’s Literature
Children’s books introduce readers to museums through colorful illustrations and creative dialogue. They present museums as a place for exploration, discovery, and cultural acknowledgment. Curated by Jorge Arcia under the guidance of Lourdes Santamaría-Wheeler.
MARSTON Science Library | November 22, 2O24 – May 5, 2025
The Science of Coffee
Coffee unites the world. It grows in more than 70 countries, primarily along the equator. An estimated two billion people drink it every day. Is that perfect cup of coffee an art, a science, or a little of both? Curated by Jean Bossart, Robin Fowler, and Angie Price.
Architecture & Fine Arts Library | September 27, 2023 – May 5, 2025
The Making of Historic St. Augustine
Florida Governor LeRoy Collins established The Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board in 1959. The state agency worked to restore and reconstruct historic structures in the city before its 400th anniversary in 1965. The Preservation Board was abolished in 1997, but its legacy lives on in St. Augustine’s historic downtown district. Curated by Laura Marion and Casey Wooster.
Marston Science Library | July 12, 2023 – March 7, 2025
What is Science Fiction?
With the world changing so rapidly and people’s imaginations growing along with it, science fiction is the perfect outlet for re-examining the past, experiencing the present through an augmented lens, and expressing future possibilities. Curated by Barrett Uhler, CJ Gott and Brad Curry.
Library West | January 26, 2023 – January 26, 2025
Afrofuturism: Creativity of the Black Mind
Afrofuturism has grown in popularity in recent years and is present in every sector of popular culture. The literary and artistic style reimagines the past or creates an enhanced present and future through an Afrocentric lens. Curated by Antonette Jones.
