Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science

In 1949, The Junior League of Miami's "Project Finding Committee"​ determined that Dade County's children needed a science museum.

The Junior Museum of Miami, a private non-profit organization, was established in 1950 in a house on the corner of Biscayne Boulevard and 26th Street. The Junior Museum expanded so quickly that in 1952 it was forced to move to the Miami Women's Club building on Bayshore Drive.

It was then christened the Museum of Science and Natural History. The institution, however, again began outgrowing its new space. By 1960, the first building of the community's new science museum opened its doors.

The facility, located on three acres of the historic Vizcaya complex, was built and furnished rent-free by the County. Late 1966 saw the construction of a Space Transit Planetarium which soon became the leading facility of its kind in the world.