The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is proud to present our first ever Sea Turtle Camp!  We are offering two sessions; a morning session for 6-9 year olds and an afternoon session for 10-12 year olds.  Each day is filled with games, crafts, educational programs, and of course, a yummy snack!  Our Campers will learn everything there is to know about sea turtle biology, conservation and the threats that they face through our interactive, 5 day camp.

Today our Campers received an Introduction to Sea Turtles, learning about the Amazing Adaptations that sea turtles have to survive in their ocean home, specifically the 5 species that are common to Georgia.  Read below to learn what our Campers learned today;

Morning Campers (Left to Right: McEver, Reilly, Jackson, Hanna, Ashley, Sydney, Faith

“I learned that the Kemp’s Ridley is the smallest.”  ~McEver

“The Leatherback is the largest in the world!”  ~Reilly

“I learned about the 5 types of sea turtles that come to Georgia.” ~Jackson

“I learned about sea turtles swallowing food.  They have little spines that hold the food, so they can spit the salt water back out!”  ~Hanna

“I learned that the top half of the shell is called the carapace and the bottom half is called the plastron.” ~Ashley

“Green sea turtles’ heads are little.  Hawksbills have a pretty shell on their backs.”  ~Sydney

“I learned that Leatherbacks eat jellyfish.”  ~Faith

Afternoon Campers (Left to Right: Juliana, Ciara, Colton, Alex, Brooke, Zoe, Emma, Jenna)

“I learned that Leatherbacks dive 4,000 feet in the water.  That’s why they have soft shells, so they won’t crack.”  ~Juliana

” I learned that there are 7 types of sea turtles found worldwide and 5 that live in Georgia.”  ~Ciera

“The Leatherback is the biggest turtle and dives the deepest.”  ~Colton

“Leatherbacks have a soft shell.”  ~Alex

“I learned about how many sea turtle species there are - 7!”  ~Brooke

“Epibiota means things on a turtle’s back.”  ~Emma

“I learned that the reason a Leatherback sea turtle has a soft shell is because they have to dive deep under water.  If their shell was hard, it would crack!”  ~Jenna

“That the stuff that lives on the back of a sea turtle is called Epibiota and it’s good for camouflage.”         ~Zoe

Stay tuned all week long to learn more from our Sea Turtle Campers!  I am particularly excited about Sea Turtle Camp, since I developed this curriculum for my Master’s Thesis at Duke University.  While it was originally created for the Caribbean region, this curriculum can be used anywhere!  I am thrilled that Sea Turtle Camp has come to Georgia and that it will help children became as passionate as I am about sea turtle conservation.

~Alicia Marin, GSTC Education Coordinator