Have a love for history and only have one hour to explore the whole Museum? This is an hour-long guide for your must-see stops on your mad dash through MOAS! We hope you will be back soon to spend the whole day with us!

Stop #1: Root Family Museum 

The Root Family Museum is a vast collection of American cultural history, including the largest Coca-Cola memorabilia collection in the world, a replica of an early pharmacy, race cars, and train cars. This first leg of the itinerary will allow you to explore the most notable items in the Museum, which offer you a unique look into 20th century America. 

The Original Coca-Cola Bottle

The Coca-Cola collection in the Root Family Museum features a selection of glass bottles that show the evolution of Coca-Cola bottles throughout the last century. Within this collection is a glass bottle in the original design by the Root family. This is one of the only two original bottles left in the world. 

Pharmacy

The soft drink that we now love was first created in a pharmacy by combining the special Coca-Cola syrup with carbonated water. The Root Family Museum features an example of an early-aged pharmacy, much like the one where Coca-Cola was invented. 

Train Cars

The Root family utilized two train cars to travel during their lifetime, the "Dell Rapids" and the "Silver Holly." These train cars have been fully restored and now reside in a dedicated train station within the Root Family Museum. 

Stop #2: Chinese Gallery

The Helena and William Schulte Gallery of Chinese Art contains over 80 pieces of Chinese art representing thousands of years of Chinese history. This second stop will give you a glimpse into the importance of religion and family within Chinese culture.

Painting Folios

In the middle of the gallery lies two writing folios, one for women and one for men. The men's folio shows a combination of calligraphy with images of philosophers, kings, and court officials. The women's painting folio depicts images of women enjoying daily life and children playing. What makes this so interesting is that on the opposite page of the painting it remains blank with no writing whereas the male folio includes Chinese characters. Women were not encouraged to read or write. The folios show the difference between men and women and their roles in society. They were painted in watercolor and gouache on silk. 

Yellow Rice Bowl with Dragons

Both the color yellow and the depiction of a five-clawed dragon were symbols associated with the emperor. This simple, yet distinct bowl featured these two symbols and was owned by the last emperor of China, Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi. 

Stop #3: Cuban Gallery

The Cuban Gallery is home to one of the most important collections of Cuban fine and folk art outside of Cuba. The core of the collection came from Cuban President Fulgencio Batista, a regular vacationer, and resident of Daytona Beach in the 1940s and 50s. Since then, the collection has grown with the contributions of other collectors and artists. The collection now features over 200 works of Cuban fine art. 

Coronation of the Virgin by the Trinity, by José Nicolás de la Escalera

Escalera's painting is a religious painting that attempts to capture the hearts of Protestants and bring them back to Catholicism. Its use of color and spacing gives it a dramatic effect and is a prime example of the European-inspired religious art of New Spain. 

Portrait of Don Tomas Mateo Cervantes, by Vincente Escobar

Escobar was one of the most important portrait painters of the colonial period. In this painting, he captures the images of Cervantes, a Cuban civic and cultural leader. His attention to detail is evident in this elegant painting. 

Stop #4: Prehistory of Florida Gallery

The West Wing of the Museum features a gallery focusing on the prehistoric history of Florida. This exhibition includes fossil remains of a giant ground sloth, mastodon, as a cast of a glyptodont. Along with these fossils are preserved remains of bugs, butterflies, and mollusks. 

Giant Ground Sloth

The skeleton of the giant ground sloth is the most complete skeleton in the world. Found in 1975, this skeleton took over two years to excavate and was located only 2.5 miles away from the Museum. With the help of Dr. Gordon Edmund, Curator of Paleontology at Canada's Royal Ontario Museum, the bones were reconstructed. This 130,000-year-old skeleton has now found its home in the West Wing of the Museum. 

Love artwork as well as history? Check out our One-Hour Itinerary for the Art Lover!