Creation Studies Institute
If you want to learn more about fossils from the great flood and lots of other creation science topics – land and sea – check out Creation Studies Institute. I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with Mr. Tom DeRosa and hearing his heart and passion to help people come to know Jesus as Savior and Creator. His ministry is growing and has so many topics to explore both online and in the physical location in Florida. If you have kiddos, check out the kids’ classes they offer. The museum and opportunities to learn are continuing to expand to bring the good news through creation science!
Saltwater Studies
Do you live near the Southeastern coast of Florida or will be vacationing there anytime soon and would enjoy learning from a marine biologist? I’ve chatted with her and love her passion! Check out Saltwater Studies for fun classes and events for homeschoolers, vacationers, and locals!
Snorkeling around Shell Island
If you vacation somewhere on the northwestern gulf coast of Florida along 30A, you have to check out Shell Island! You can snorkel and see dolphins, stingrays, shells, urchins, sea turtles, fish, and other amazing sea creatures. You can rent a boat and go out to Shell Island yourself via Panama City Beach Harbor, or you can take the ferry over from St. Andrews State Park where you can also rent snorkeling gear and enjoy the park’s trails and beaches. While snorkeling in the shallow water surrounding Shell Island, we found this green sea turtle swimming in the seagrass. So cool! Learn more about the shuttle from St. Andrews State Park here.
4Ocean
You’ve probably heard about 4Ocean. If not, It’s a really amazing organization that started in a simple way – cleaning up a small part of the ocean. Here’s a little about 4Ocean from the website.
“Inspired by successful lifestyle brands that were able to build passionate followings, they decided to implement a business model that would allow them to grow quickly so they could pay workers, fund cleanups, and spread the word about the ocean plastic crisis.
So they created the 4ocean bracelet and pledged to pull a pound of trash from the ocean for each one purchased, using the profits to scale cleanup operations, make donations to ocean-related nonprofits, and build an organizational infrastructure to support future growth.”
You can get involved too. Check out the website to purchase items to help clean up the ocean, or volunteer and help. If your teen needs service hours, this can help as well. Check out opportunities to get involved here on the Events Page.
Sanibel Sea School and Ding Darling Park
If you’re planning a trip down to the southwestern part of Florida around Fort Meyers, head to Sanibel and Captiva Islands for some natural beauty that can seem hard to find on the more crowded beaches of Florida. There’s a learning center there on Sanibel called Sanibel Sea School that has lots of marine learning opportunities for camps, day camps, homeschool field trips, and family experiences. Sanibel Sea School also offers programs at resorts around Sanibel and Captiva. I reached out to check on how they teach, as far as evolution goes, and the response was this, ” Our content is typically pretty neutral. However, as an institution of scientific knowledge, we acknowledge biological evolution. But again, in the vast majority of our classes, it never comes up.” Good to know!
If you do go to the Sanibel and Captiva area, be sure to drive through J.N. Ding Darling State Park. You can spend a few minutes or several hours in this park and see lots of different wildlife, since this refuge was initially created to help protect endangered and threatened species on Sanibel Island. One very interesting animal you can see here is the The Roseate spoonbill, a wading bird with a pretty pink coloring.
