Mar 03
Have you ever held on to a particular piece of trash, thinking to yourself, “I better hold on to this; I may want to use it again in the future?” Well, maybe YOU haven’t but the Education Staff at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center sure has! We have a whole room devoted to glorious goodies from the garbage! We often collect materials that would otherwise be on their way to a landfill to make unique sea turtle crafts. The 2010 Litter Critter Contest is a perfect example of our unwillingness to part with perfectly good trash.
The Litter Critter Contest has been designed to encourage local Glynn County 3rd graders to be eco-friendly and sea turtle friendly by creating sea turtles out of recycled materials as part of the Sea Turtle Education Project (STEP). Students will learn how sea turtles are affected by human activities both on land and in coastal communities. Additionally, they learn that by recycling in their classroom and at home, they can actually help conserve an endangered species. This contest also makes students more aware of their consumption, whether the items they use can or can not be recycled and what their recycling options are in Glynn County.
After completing the STEP educational programs, the GSTC will work with Elementary art teachers, classroom teachers, and students to create a sea turtle out of recycled materials. Last week, the GSTC staff began visiting local schools to assist the students in creating these works of art. Once complete, the recycled sea turtles will be placed in a central location in the school where the students, teachers, and school personnel will have the opportunity to vote on their top three. Those three will then be placed in the Litter Critter Contest and compete against recycled sea turtles submitted by students from other Glynn County Schools.
These recycled sea turtles will be on display at following locations:
- Saint Simons Island Library, March 23 – April 4th
- Brunswick Library, April 5- April 10th
- Georgia Sea Turtle Center, April 12- April 17th
- GSTC website March 23 - April 16th
We invite the community and our virtual guests to visit these locations to vote on their favorite Litter Critter. The Litter Critter Contest finalists will be announced at the 2010 Shell-e-brate Earth Day Event at the GSTC on Saturday, April 17.
Many thanks to all Glynn County art teachers and students, for letting us visit their classrooms to make recycled masterpieces!
~Alicia B. Marin, GSTC Education Coordinator
Feb 13
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is proud to present our 2nd annual Sea Turtle Camp program! We invite children ages 6 to 12 to join us for the ultimate camp experience as junior conservationists! Come be a part of this unique program with fun-in-the-sun activities, sand adventures and unforgettable sea turtles! You’ll have the opportunity to learn about the five species of local sea turtles, explore the coastal environment through dynamic activities and, of course, visit with our sea turtle patients!
This year we are hosting four weeks of Sea Turtle Camp! See below for dates and times:
Week of Ages Time
June 7 - 11 10-12 10:00am to 3:00pm
June 14 - 18 6-9 10:00am to 3:00pm
June 21 - 25 10-12 10:00am to 3:00pm
June 28 - July 2 6-9 10:00am to 3:00pm
Space is limited and reservations are required. You don’t want to miss it, so make your reservation now!
Please visit our Sea Turtle Camp website or contact Alicia Marin at (912) 635-4076 for more information .
~Alicia B. Marin, Education Coordinator
Jan 02
Have you been naughty or have you been nice? If you were naughty, you have 350 days to prepare for Santa’s next visit with the Sea Turtles!
The big guy in red flew in for a visit this past December, leaving his workshop behind just six days before Christmas! Many of Santa’s elves were spotted
helping sea turtles at the Center that very same day. All the good girls and boys (even the big ones!) had the chance to sit on Santa’s lap, have their photo taken and whisper what they’d like under the tree.
Even our old friend, Archelon, came dressed for the occasion! As an early gift, Santa gave each child a special sea turtle toy to remind them that sea turtles, wild and captive, need our love and care throughout the year. 
Everyone, whether naughty or nice, enjoyed a performance of Scute’s Christmas Adventure-but there sure was something different about those holiday tunes sung throughout the show! To adorn their tree when they got home, all guests were invited to make a take-home craft. This season’s turtle-inspired craft featured a felt turtle with a wreath upon its back. Adorned with ocean stickers, it looked like the most decorate spot in the ocean- the coral reef! We hope that these ‘Turtle Wreefs’ and memories from Santa’s visit will deck your halls for many seasons to come.
Many thanks to the Mirasolas for their tremendous help with this event!
~Kelly Price, Education Specialist
Dec 12
This event is FREE with general admission to the Center!
Check out the holiday magic from the 2008 event!
~Kelly Price, Education Specialist
Nov 23
We would like to share some exciting news regarding the Georgia Sea Turtle Center Gift Shop! Mark your calendar for November 26th, 2009… We are having a 10% discount* on all merchandise in the Gift Shop. This discount will end on January 15, 2010.
Come by and make your selection and we will take care of the rest! We offer a wide variety of gifts 
including, jewelry, hats & visors, travel mugs, assorted sweatshirts, and t-shirts.
We also have educational books for children and adults that will make a great gift.
And don’t forget those decorative pieces of art and pottery!
So come spend the day with us and, for a low admission price, visit our interactive Exhibit Gallery, listen to educational programs and see our patients in our Rehabilitation Pavilion, then stop by the Gift Shop and shop til you drop! To make things even better, all proceeds help to offset operational costs of the GSTC including patient care, educational programming and research.
Thank you for supporting The Georgia Sea Turtle Center!
Peggy Van Buren
Gift Shop Coordinator
*This offer does not include online sales, admissions, adoptions, memberships or brick purchases.
Nov 06
October 24, 2009 marked the 3rd Annual Turtleween event at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center! With over 400 people in attendance it was our largest Turtleween in history! Hundreds of costume-clad turtle enthusiasts took part in Halloween-inspired activities with a turtle twist!
This year, we invited some special guests to take part in the festivities. Birds of prey flew, snakes slithered and other creepies crawled in from the Center for Wildlife Education! Based at Georgia Southern University, the CWE spent the day showcasing non-releasable reptiles, raptors and mammals. Boys and ghouls got their creep-on with the chance to touch a snake or get up close with an owl or hawk. Tidelands Nature Center swam in for a spell to feature toothy villains-sharks! 
Activities abounded under the Jellyfish Forest including our most popular station, Friendly Fisherman! With so much trash in the ocean these days, fearless trash trawlers got the chance to fish for garbage with Goldfish cracker treats to follow. Franken-turtle brought out the mad-scientist with the opportunity to create and name never-before-seen species and bones were rattling at the Sea Turtle Bone Dig. 
To top off their Center visit, a Turtleween Scavenger Hunt guided seekers through the Gallery, Hospital and Hospital window to find things a-miss. Can you spot the turtle with funny eyes? 
And who was that turtle with the spooky name? Phantom, of course!
It looked as though gloomy weather might cast a spell over the outdoor activities, but the rain held off and gave turtle-treaters the chance hunt for tricks-or-treats around the historic district! Pier Road shops, the History Center and Jekyll Books were outfitted with goodies for those with an adventurous spirit!
Many thanks to our cast of goblins for making this event possible!
~ Kelly Price, the Barnacle
Oct 17
Join us for turtle-inspired Halloween fun!
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center presents
3rd annual Turtleween
Saturday, October 24th from 12-4pm
The GSTC will host a variety of turtle-inspired crafts, games and activities on the Center’s front lawn.
Our special guest,
the Center for Wildlife Education at Georgia Southern, will be on hand with
snakes, creepy crawlers and birds of prey.
Sea you there!
Oct 02
Miss the last turtle release because you ate too much Shrimp and Grits to get to the beach? Well, have no fear! We’re having another turtle release next week during the 7th Annual Georgia’s Colonial Coast Birding & Nature Festival will take place October 8th-12th on Jekyll Island and along the GA coast!
Who are we releasing you ask? TUNICATE and CATON!!! Both sub-adult loggerhead sea turtles will be released with satellite transmitters attached to their carapace so we can track their journey as they enter back into the wild blue yonder. From this data, we hope to gain valuable information about sea turtle behavior, foraging grounds and migration patterns. CLICK HERE to learn more about satellite tracking!
TUNICATE
CATON
Caton received her transmitter on Thursday, October 1, and all went well. Tunicate will be receiving his transmitter on Monday, October 5. We’ll begin this procedure at approximately 11am, and will be viewable through our treatment room window in our Exhibit Gallery! So come on down!
This will most likely be our last turtle release until next spring since the ocean temperatures are quickly falling. So DON’T MISS OUT! Here are all the details:
When: Friday, October 9, 2009
Time: 4pm
Where: On the beach, north side of the Convention Center, Jekyll Island, GA
*All releases are subject to change at any time (date, time, location) as determined by the GSTC staff, in the best interest of the turtles.
Shortly after their release, Tunicate and Caton will be available as an Option #2 adoption. These funds will offset costs of satellite time and data management for the duration of time they transmit a signal. Check our website for more information on our Adopt-a-Sea Turtle Program!
Hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Stefanie Ouellette
Marine Field Programs Coordinator
