South Florida Museum and Aquarium

Two other Fulltime Families went with us to the South Florida Museum and Aquarium in Bradenton.

We arrived just in time to hear the presentation on the manatees. The oldest manatee in the world, Snooty, age 66, resides right here and over the years has become a local celebrity with his photo on everything from the phonebook to street signs and more. Their other manatee is only two. He was rescued and will be released once he reaches the weight that has been determined safest for him.

During the talk we learned that the manatee has no natural predators however, boating accidents and cold water are their biggest threats. If the water temperature drops below 69 degrees, cold stress syndrome quickly sets in and can kill these gentle giants. That is why they spend their winter in the warm water of Florida's springs and power plants. Once the temperatures climb, they will venture as far as Texas or Maine.

Touching sea urchins.

Checking out some turtle shells in the discovery room with our friends.

The collection of shells on display was incredible! Asher and Journey love shells and had a great time at this exhibit. There were quite a few miscellaneous shells in a box that they picked up and then searched for the same type and asked me to read the labels to them so they would know what kind they were holding. A great learning experience!

The museum gives out scavenger hunt pages- photos of items that the kids can find within the museum. They enjoyed looking for matches and had fun checking out the photography in this room.