The Museum of Arts & Sciences is a not-for-profit educational institution founded in 1955 and chartered by the State of Florida in 1962. The Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. Programs are sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the County of Volusia.

Museum collections and research include Cuban and Florida art, American Fine and Decorative Arts, European Fine and Decorative Arts, pre-Columbian and African artifacts, Pleistocene fossils, Florida history and regional natural history.

The Museum houses changing arts and sciences exhibition galleries, permanent collection galleries, a gallery of American art, paintings, decorative arts and furniture.

Mission Statement:

The basic purposes of the Museum are:

To render educational and cultural service to the local community, the region, and the State of Florida through collection, conservation, presentation and interpretation of original and significant objects which are important components of the artistic, scientific and historical legacy of our multicultural and multi-ethnic society.

To achieve this mission by developing, building and maintaining multinational and multidisciplinary collections, exhibitions, research, and teaching facilities within the scope of the Museum, namely the broad areas of art, science and history, with particular emphasis on Florida history; and to initiate, exhibit and promote, alone or in conjunction with other museums or educational institutions, programs for bringing about a better understanding and appreciation of the world in which we live.