The Dry Tortugas and Key West Bight Interpretive Center is located on the Key West Bight, a natural deep-water harbour on the island’s Gulf of Mexico side. The free-admission museum also spotlights the culturally rich history of the Bight.

Dry Tortugas National Park, lying approximately 70 miles west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico, is made up of seven tiny coral-and-sand islands. It includes Fort Jefferson, one of the largest brick structures in the Western Hemisphere, on which construction began in 1846. During the Civil War, Fort Jefferson served as a Union military prison for captured deserters and others.

Museum highlights include an 11-foot-diametre scale model of the historic fort as it appeared in the 1870s, a 30-foot-long photomural depicting the bight’s historic highlights, an exhibit featuring a life-size replica of the fort’s most famous prisoner, Dr. Samuel Mudd, and a hands-on children’s exhibit showcasing the natural resources of the park.

The museum’s opening is among several Florida Keys events celebrating the 500th anniversary of the discovery of Florida and the Keys island chain. Adventurer Juan Ponce de Leon first sighted the Keys on 15 May 1513, according to Spanish chronicler Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas. Later, on 21 June, de Leon and his shipmates discovered a group of islands they named Las Tortugas (The Turtles) for the scores of sea turtles they harvested there.

Operated by Yankee Freedom, whose ferry is the only commercial boat licensed to carry passengers to Dry Tortugas National Park, the Interpretive Center is open from 8.30am to 5pm daily.

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For more information on a visit to the Dry Tortugas, visit www.yankeefreedom.com
For further information on the Florida Keys & Key West, visit www.fla-keys.co.uk

For press information please contact: Jo Thomas jo.thomas@kbc-pr.com