MUSEUM
The award-winning Education and Visitor Center features a museum
with permanent exhibits that provide insight and historical perspectives
on Edward W. Bok's life and influence, as well as the Singing
Tower and Gardens. Featured are many historical documents which
detail Bok's family history, his time as editor of the Ladies'
Home Journal and his Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography.
A popular spot for young and old alike, the cut-out of the largest bell of the Singing Tower offers visitors a chance to compare their size to that of the bell, which stands over six feet tall and weighs 11 tons. A miniature replicate of the Singing Tower explains what is housed on each level. The original keyboard for the carillon in the Singing Tower is preserved in the museum and gives visitors a chance to play a note and see the workings of the carillon. Illustrations and photos of the history of carillons, the making of bells, the building of the Singing Tower and information about each of the Tower's artisans illustrate the monumental undertaking to build the 205-foot tall Tower on peninsular Florida's highest point.
Also featured is information relating to the Gardens, which were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., as well as the habitat of the Lake Wales Ridge. The nearly 250 acres of gardens and grounds have grown substantially since the Sanctuary was founded in 1929, but the initial purpose of the Sanctuary has continued through careful attention to landscape design and historical documents.
The Lake Wales Ridge is one of the most endangered habitats in the world and is supported by Bok Tower Gardens Endangered Plant Program. Many of the animals that live in this habitat also are endangered. A topographical map showing a cross-section of Florida details the different habitats found at varying sea levels. Millions of years ago, scrub vegetation extended across the southern United States. Today, remnants of those habitats persist on the ancient sand dunes which compose the Lake Wales Ridge. Historically isolated from one another and other parts of the state during periods of rising sea levels, these areas are islands of biological diversity.
