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To get ready for renovations this year, the Orange County Regional History Center is putting old props for exhibits up for auction. 

People will be able to bid on everything from a life-size foam replica of an alligator to a vintage Singer sewing machine this weekend. 

Michael Perkins is the Executive Director of the History Center. 

He says the Fabulous Floridiana Auction at the Center on Saturday will make room for new exhibits on every floor.  

Take home your own mermaid 🧜‍♀️ from our auction on Saturday https://t.co/pl5mHP4pLG

— The History Center (@HistoryCenterFL) August 8, 2019

“We’re changing them and making them much more interactive and making them fully bilingual. Adding in more audiovisual elements and really just updating them.”

Perkins says the auction will also give these replicas both staff-built and the antiques they collected for displays a second life. 

“Why not auction them off and see if some folks want to buy a large gator or a large flamingo of their very own?”

He says some of these antiques include old train models and Space Race memorabilia. 

“The Society purchased a set of tin toys so the exhibit was all about early space travel and it was sci-fi to space flight. Sort of told the sci-fi story and in the process showed off a series of space toys from the 1950s and 60s and we have a collection of those.”

None of the items on sale are from the Center’s permanent collection. All proceeds will benefit the Historical Society and the Center.

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