The Indian River Lagoon is considered to be the most biodiverse estuary in North America, and the St. Lucie County Aquarium, featuring the Smithsonian Marine Ecosystems Exhibit, invites residents to join in on a celebration of this unique habitat. National Estuaries Day is Saturday, September 26, and the aquarium will be hosting a day of special programming to celebrate and explore the Indian River Lagoon.
Program Schedule:
- 9 a.m. Beach Clean-up: Meet in front of the aquarium to pick up supplies, including gloves, trash tongs and buckets. We will comb South Causeway Beach and its parking lots, picking up anything that does not belong.
- 10:30 a.m. Feeding Frenzy: Join one of our educators as our animals get fed. The tour will start at the seagrass exhibit and visit each model ecosystem in the aquarium as the critters get their breakfast.
- 11:30 a.m. & 3:15 p.m. Plankton Discovery: Ready to discover the unseen? Meet on the Aquarium’s porch and walk out to the docks with an educator to collect tiny plankton from the lagoon. Then, head back inside to see the catch of the day under our microscopes.
- 12:30 p.m. & 1:30 p.m. Family Seining Fun: Prepare to get wet. Join our educators as you head into the Lagoon right outside of the aquarium. Work in small teams to drag long nets through the seagrass beds to safely collect small fish, crabs and other invertebrates; then release them back into their habitat.
- 2:30 p.m. Snack Time: Join one of our educators as our animals get fed. The tour will start at the seagrass exhibit and visit each model ecosystem in the aquarium as the critters get their lunch.
All programs are included with regular Aquarium admission: $5 for adults; $4 for children, & seniors (55 and older). The Aquarium will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Smithsonian Marine Station has teamed with St. Lucie County and other community partners to create this unique educational facility. The Ecosystems Exhibit is an outreach effort of the Smithsonian Marine Station, a branch of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. A fixture in the Fort Pierce community for more than 55 years, the Marine Station is dedicated to understanding the character and diversity of the marine and estuarine habitats of Florida.
Located at 420 Seaway Drive on South Hutchinson Island, the St. Lucie County Aquarium is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. and seasonally (January through March) on Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors can enjoy the guided feeding frenzy tours at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. led by Smithsonian educators. For more information or to volunteer, call 772-465-3271. Follow us on social media (@SmithsonianSMS) and visit our website at: StLucieCo.gov/Aquarium.
