Tarpon Springs, Florida: Spongeorama

The Spongeorama dioramas are currently closed to the public. We were told some fundraising will be done to refurbish them, and there are hopes they will be reopened within the next year. The movie is still being played, and sponges can be purchased.

Promotion of the Spongeorama's free video show and museum pulls in tourists to the gift shop and to consider an affiliated evening cruise.

The museum shows indications of both care and neglect. While the head to the little nude diver boatman had been reattached, the Sponge Diver's Nightmare was looking as bad as we'd ever seen it. The plexiglass was more clouded, the lighting dimmer, and boxes of merchandise were piled against the viewing window, as if they'd forgotten this was a museum.

However, it remains a must-see, with plenty of entertaining exhibits on the hazards and rewards of sponge diving.

I was there just a couple of weeks ago and it was GREAT! We saw the film and the diorama which is still in need of glass cleaning but very informative. We then boarded a large tour boat and were taken down the river port into the gulf, where we watched several pods of dolphins play. Then on to an island beach for shelling! This was a great afternoon on our trip to FL.