A fun day at Gumbo Limbo in Boca Raton, Florida - Sea Turtles and more!

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Yesterday, my husband and I took our kids to the Gumbo Lindo Nature Center. This is a nature center in city of Boca Raton, Florida. It is named Gumbo Lindo due to the Bursera simaruba trees that are located at the nature center. There are many things to see at the Gumbo Lindo Nature Center including an indoor museum with exhibits, fish tanks, several large tanks for sea turtles, sharks, lobsters, rays, and fish. All of these animals having been caught and released locally from the Intercoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean. There was even numerous tanks inside the FAU building housing many sea turtles which were being observed by college students enrolled in marine biology courses at FAU college (Florida Antlantic University). Another thing to do at the nature center was walking a trail through the foliage/wooded area and a 40 foot tall observation tower which features a view of both the Intercoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean. There is even an area featuring a butterfly trail for viewing lizards and butterflies. I especially enjoyed listening to the employee there that moved from tank to tank, explaining what wildlife was in each tank, anwering questions and even taking one of the turtles out of the tank so everyone could see a sea turtle up close and personal. It was just awesome! The attached picture on my discussion is of Polly, a 2 year old sea turtle. The employee spoke while feeding the turtles and made sure that everyone was able to see the animals and have any questions answered. I learned that these turtles and sharks were caught locally in nets and that once they reach a certain age or size they are released back into the wild and younger, smaller animals replace them. I think that this is so much more humane than when animals are kept in tanks at places like Sea World, etc. These animals are not made to perform but rather we just observe them in their tanks. I like that they don't spend their whole lives in these tanks and are not treated like pets, etc. My family enjoyed spending the day there, learning lots of information and getting to see sea turtles and other marine life up close and personal. The suggested donation is $3.00 per person as an entrance to the nature center, which is a relatively inexpensive admission for so many things to do. It was fun, educational, and I think that it made my children appreciate nature. The weather was beautiful and it could not have been a better experience. If you want to find out more information on Gumbo Lindo here is a link to its website: http://www.gumbolimbo.org/ Have a great day and happy myLotting!!!