Top 8 attractions to explore in Broward County

A historic home in Fort Lauderdale. The property was originally acquired in 1895 by Hugh Taylor Birch, a successful Chicago lawyer, and given to his daughter Helen and her husband, artist Frederic Clay Bartlett, as a wedding gift in 1919. The principal buildings include; the main house, an art studio, a music studio and a guest house. They are all of vernacular architecture, designed by Bartlett. The estate is 35.4 acres (14.3 ha). It includes 100 feet (30 m) of beach.

Opened in 1988, it is the largest butterfly park in the world, and the first park of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. The facility houses around 20,000 live butterflies. In addition to the birds and butterfly exhibits, visitors can view the laboratory where the butterflies are raised and can see the different stages including eggs, caterpillars, and pupae.

The park, opened in 1953, was originally the first beach open to African Americans in Broward County.

60-acre (24 ha) wildlife sanctuary, aviary, zoo, and botanical garden. The grounds contain more than 3,000 species of tropical and subtropical plants including 200-year-old oaks, and 300 plus species of palms. The 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2) Everglades aviary houses one of the largest collection of wading birds in the United States.

Home of Fort Lauderdale pioneers Frank and Ivy Stranahan. Built in 1901 as a trading post and converted into a residence for the Stranahans in 1906, the house is the oldest surviving structure in Broward County.

Among the wildlife of the park are the gopher tortoise, eastern indigo snake, butterflies, and turtles. Visitors also can see gray squirrels, marsh rabbits, and opossums, as well as more than 200 species of wading birds, hawks, and ducks. Recreational activities include canoeing, bicycling, fishing, swimming, Segway tours and group camping. Visitors can also enjoy inline skating, hiking, picnicing, and wildlife viewing.

It is one of the largest museums of its kind in Florida, and has the most visitors of any museum in the state. The museum features its own AutoNation IMAX theater, and shows 3-D IMAX films in which viewers wear special glasses and headsets. The museum also features a number of "ecoscapes", as well as a simulated ride to Mars, a simulated airboat ride in the Everglades and a MaxFlight airplane flight simulator.

Museum emphasizes contemporary (20th century) projects. Among its 6,200 pieces are a significant collection of ceramics by Pablo Picasso, a collection of contemporary Cuban art representing the contributions of more than 125 artists, and North America's largest exhibition of work from the Northern European CoBrA avant-garde movement.