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You Are Here: Home » Things to Do » Attractions and Family Fun » By Land, By Sea with Family »
by Chelle Koster Walton, member of the Society of American Travel Writers
"Squeeze it," the youngster sitting next to me on the boat urged as he handed me what looked like a shapeless grey glump of goosh. I obliged, nonetheless, only to be rewarded for my compliance with a salty squirt in the eye.
He giggled. Okay, he'd caught me not paying attention to the biologist on board, who had evidently just explained about the ascidian, a.k.a. sea squirt, she had pulled off the bottom of Clearwater Harbor with a trawling net. "Nature's squirt gun," she was saying, to the kids' delight.
A cowfish, pufferfish, baby blue crab, toad fish, purple urchin and one big stingray were also among the treasures she scored that day on Clearwater Marine Aquarium's (CMA) family-perfect Sea Life Safari Nature Cruise.
The St. Petersburg/Clearwater area's potential for sea adventure is as limitless as the its waterscape and rivaled only by landlubber opportunities for family learning and playing.
Sea Savvy
In Pinellas County, you can find boat tours explicitly for spotting dolphins, sponge-diving demonstrations, parasailing, playing pirate, fishing, shelling, nature-watching, dining and ferrying to islands accessible only by boat: Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge, Anclote Key Preserve State Park, Caladesi Island State Park and Shell Key.
With that many choices, you're bound to hit upon something for every age group in the family. Grade-schoolers especially have a yo-ho-ho time on Capt. Memo's Pirate Cruise out of Clearwater Beach. Energetic staff run a virtual day-care program on board with activities from squirt gun attacks on parents to dancing the Macarena.
Older kids, grades 3 and up, will benefit most from CMA's cruise from Clearwater Beach and St. Nicholas' Boat Line's sponge-diving excursion from the Greek sponge docks in Tarpon Springs. As a third-generation sponge diver suits up in 12-pound boots and a 38-pound metal helmet – garb his ancestors wore on the job – passengers learn about sponges and the grueling occupation of harvesting them from the sea floor.
Back on land, families can learn more about the sea at Konger Tarpon Springs Aquarium and CMA's rescue and research facility, filled with fish, a stingray petting tank and pools where rescued sea turtles, dolphins and river otters cavort. Hourly demonstrations and feedings allow guests to watch trainers interact with the critters.
Happy Landings
Whirl a whirligig, hear the meow of a catbird, crawl through a gopher tortoise burrow and maneuver a super-sized millipede through leaf litter. At Pinellas County's newest and way-cool eco-attraction, Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center, kids literally get in touch with nature through the most creative use of video and engaging hands-on exhibits imaginable. Nature trails let them face off with creatures they've studied inside. Ask about July's summer camps for an even wilder experience.
Also new and state-of-the-art, the Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center in St. Petersburg interprets life along its nature trails and into its past tense, when native Americans settled the island and created intricate pottery. Interactive exhibits display replicas of archaeological finds from an early 19th-century Smithsonian Institution dig and reveal life in the mangroves. The preserve is one of several quiet, pleasant-surprise oases in the midst of big-city commotion.
Boyd Hill Nature Park attracts families with cool playgrounds, a butterfly garden, an aviary, shady picnic grounds and trails. The environmental education center introduces them to the local cast of characters, from baby wolf spiders that ride their moms piggyback to barred owls who ask "who cooks for you?"
St. Petersburg's Science Center has a more casual, modest feel, where kids can randomly explore a variety of their favorite creatures in pieces – eggs, bones, shells, skins – and live – fish, snakes, a baby alligator, guinea pigs, lizards and more. It holds classes for all age groups throughout the summer.
Classic Sunken Gardens, in rejuvenated St. Petersburg, makes for fun exploration through lush vegetation, ponds, waterfalls, exotic birds and butterflies in a fresh setting five feet below street level.
To see local birds in the wilds, head south to Fort De Soto Park, where roseate spoonbills, herons, egrets, pelicans and shorebirds enjoy another retreat from urban tempos.
Visit sick and injured birds on Indian Shores' beach at Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, a rehab facility that, like the region's many nature-focused attractions, colors its eco-lessons in shades of green and blue, land and sea.
For more information on the above family-friendly activities in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area, visit FloridasBeach.com or call the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau at 877-352-3224.
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