Highlands Hammock State Park outside Sebring (5931 Hammock Rd.; 863-386-6094) is home to the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Museum. The CCC was a New Deal program that employed thousands who were out of work in the Great Depression, 1933-1942. Several typical CCC rustic cabins are preserved here; in one of them is a museum explaining the program and its impact, nationally and in Florida.

Many World War II vets and their families retired to Florida. In Kissimmee, the Bataan-Corregidor Memorial in Lakefront Park commemorates the American and Philippine vets of the 1942 Bataan Death March. The Flying Tigers Warbird Air Museum at the north end of the Kissimmee Municipal Airport (231 N. Hoagland Blvd.; 407-933-1942) has restored, fully functional vintage military aircraft. It's also America's premier restoration facility and you can sign up for a course to work on an old warbird.

In Polk City, Fantasy of Flight (1400 Broadway Blvd. S.E.; 863-984-3500) has the world's largest private collection of vintage aircraft and flight simulators. The history of aviation is told through exciting sight and sound "immersion" experiences. You can also watch rare aircraft in demonstration flights, try out a flight simulator and tour the hangars. In Lakeland, the International Sport Aviation Museum (4175 Medulla Rd.; 863-644-0741) looks at sport flying in Florida. The 20,000 square-foot facility houses a collection of sport planes, stunt planes and experimental and one-of-a-kind aircraft, along with exhibits related to general aviation in Florida.

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