An all-new multimedia gallery at the Tampa Bay History Center tells the story of Florida’s conquistadors, pirates and shipwrecks.

TAMPA – Set sail with the History Center this weekend as the museum, located on downtown Tampa’s Riverwalk, unveils “Treasure Seekers: Conquistadors, Pirates and Shipwrecks,” an all-new permanent gallery experience.

The exhibit opens to the public at 10 a.m. Sunday (Feb. 18) at the center, 801 Old Water St.

Featuring a 60-foot, 18th-century pirate ship as its centerpiece, the new, permanent addition to the History Center introduces visitors to explorers who landed in “La Florida” more than 500 years ago as well as little-known pirates like “Calico” Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny, who prowled Florida’s coasts in the 1700s.

The new gallery also dives into the science and technology of shipwreck recovery, showing how centuries-old vessels are recovered from the ocean floor.

 The 8,500-square-foot permanent addition includes the Touchton Map Library and Florida Center for Cartographic Education, a partnership with the University of South Florida that will feature thousands of Florida maps and ephemera dating back to the 15th century through today.

“We’re telling a Florida story,” History Center President and CEO C.J. Roberts said. “Conquistadors, pirates and privateers, shipwreck recovery – many of these things were happening not just in the Tampa Bay area, but across the state.”