Florida: There's plenty new under the sun

There's more than sun and sand to a Florida vacation. This season, the "crowning jewel" of Palm Beach, the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, opens, and over in Fort Lauderdale, the Museum of Discovery & Science also opens.

Palm Beach -- already known for its beaches, architecture and elegant shopping -- now will also feature world-class entertainment. Among artists for the first season beginning in late November will be the New York Pops, Ella Fitzgerald, Atlanta Symphony, Leontyne Price and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The center will have three theaters -- one outdoors -- for various events. For information on events, call [phone].

In Fort Lauderdale, the new Discovery & Science Museum, which opens Nov. 21, will feature Florida EcoScapes, a bilevel ecology mountain with live animals and plant species; a Space Base, with a simulation of the weightlessness of space on a manned maneuvering unit; children's exhibits; and an IMAX theater. The museum is near the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, so you can easily make a day of it, visiting the museum, having lunch, then going to the theater.