Information on tickets, opening times and directions can be found under this story.

Chances are you've had afternoon thunderstorms rain on your parade at least once this summer.

"Florida weather is such an amazing thing," said Andrew Sandall, the executive director of the Museum of Art and Sciences. "It's one of the things Floridians grow to love and hate in equal measures."

Here, our afternoon's wild weather outside is captured safely inside.

At the Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art, you'll find the world's most extensive collection of Florida art.

"We designed the front room of this building to be the wow room,” Sandall said of the modern building that looks like a barn on the exterior and feels like an airport with ceilings taller than a gymnasium on the inside.

The gallery in Daytona Beach focuses on Florida's weather, with some works more than 100 years old.

"Here, you can see a Florida that has disappeared in many cases," Sandall said.

Many of the artists hail from the northeast U.S. Sandall explains it was developer Henry Flagler who hired the artists with the hopes that their work would drive tourism. And so, the paintings could be considered the first postcards from Florida.

"We all love Florida sunsets," Sandall said. "Imagine an artist coming down from the northeast who had never seen that before. They were taking these paintings back up to the northeast, and you can imagine all the rich, wealthy northeasterners had to come down and see if this was real or not."

Many of the paintings have a map accompanying them on the wall, giving visitors an idea as to the whereabouts of the content of the painting.

In order to capture the Florida landscape, many of the artists had to tint their paint. They added the color white because the sun's rays reflect of the beaches, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

"It's rushing wind that's in a hurry," said Cathy Van Benthuysen, who was visiting from The Villages.

Hurricanes, wild fires, tornadoes, fog, rough surf and wind were all elements on canvas that seemed very realistic for Benthuysen.

"When I looked at it, I could feel the motion," Benthuysen said. "I could feel how terrible it is. And also how powerful."

And just like Florida's afternoon weather — and the storms of life — Benthuysen can see a rainbow here.

"The best part? The sun always come out," Benthuysen said, with a grin.

"It's one of these museums you really need to keep coming back to," Sandall said.

About this Destination

Where: Daytona Beach, Volusia County

Hours: 
Monday-Saturday: 10am – 5pm
Sunday: 11am-5pm
 
Phone:
386-255-0285
toll free 866-439-4769

Tickets:
Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art

Seniors & Students: $8.95
Adults:  $10.95
Children 6-17: $4.95
Children under 5: Free

Address: 
352 S. Nova Road
Daytona Beach, Florida 32114

Websites:
 
Museum: http://www.moas.org/main.cfm
Art Gallery: http://www.moas.org/ciciandhyattbrownmuseum.html

Parking:
 Free

Accessibility Note: The art gallery has no steps is wheelchair accessible

GPS Longitude & Latitude:
Latitude: 29.196692
Longitude: -81.036912

Latitude: 29° 11' 48.0906"
Longitude: -81° 2' 12.8832"

Drive Times:
From Orlando: 1 hour
From Tampa: 2 hours, 20 minutes

Tankful on Television
You can catch new Florida on a Tankful stories each Thursday and Saturday on News 13 and Bay News 9. New editions play at the end of each hour starting at 6 a.m. Classic Florida on a Tankful stories can be found each Friday and Sunday on Bay News 9 and News 13 at the end of each hour starting at 6 a.m.

Tankful on Demand
This story and other Florida on a Tankful Summer stories are waiting for you On Demand! Catch the 30-minute summer travel special with Scott Fais now on Bright House Local On Demand, Channel 999. Use your remote to scroll to the right to the TRAVEL category. Then SCROLL DOWN to TANKFUL.