Magnetic levitation technology has shown a great deal of promise for micromanipulation tasks. Due to the lack of mechanical contact, magnetic levitation systems are free of problems caused by friction, wear, sealing and lubrication. These advantages have made magnetic levitation systems a great candidate for clean room applications. In this work, a new large gap magnetic levitation system is designed, developed and successfully tested. The system is capable of levitating a 6.5(gr) permanent magnet in 3D space with an air gap of approximately 50(cm) with the traveling range of 20mm x 20mm x 30mm. The overall positioning accuracy of the system is 60 micro meters. With the aid of finite elements method, an optimal geometry for the magnetic stator is proposed. Also, an energy optimization approach is utilized in the design of the electromagnets. Several control strategies have been proposed for the system and the performance of the system has been experimentally evaluated.