Jersey Shore Secrets: Uncover them at the Wetlands Institute
Looking for a field trip add-on to your Jersey Shore visit?
Whether it’s summertime or the weather just feels that way, I know a lot of us love to head to the Jersey Shore. I recommend that you consider a stop in Stone Harbor at the Wetlands Institute. The Institute and pathways are ideal for hands-on exploration as you uncover secrets of the beautiful salt marsh. Through their engaging signs, exhibits, and staff presentations, everyone can learn a lot and be motivated to be good stewards of the environment.
The Field Trip Academy started at the Indoor Exhibits
Traveling there in the offseason, we had plenty of elbow room to explore. First we paid admission to see the indoor exhibits (outdoors was free),
Then we stopped by the Salt Marsh Teaching Tank just in time to get up close and personal with the snails, horseshoe crabs, clams, and more as they were getting fed. We also enjoyed a friendly snail flipping contest with another family.
While there, we got to see the turtle’s own high class home where he had his lunch. Off-season, they have feedings on the weekends at 11:00 am. You can check their website for summer times.
Then we ducked into the Terrapin’s home where they have names and are swimming in a tank.
The building that houses the feeding areas, aquarium, and tanks is really cool. You can take a spiral staircase to get up to the observation tower. That is, as long as you are not afraid of heights. And you are rewarded for your climb with this great view over the Wetlands. Notice the elevated picnic area. A very nice spot to have lunch!
We then headed outdoors to explore the creatures of the salt marsh.
The monarch butterflies were first in our encounters, hanging out in the bushes by the ground level picnic tables. They were in abundance on our visit! And they were huge. The helpful docent explained that unlike their predecessors that flew north and live only four weeks, these are the Methuselah Monarchs. They live 8 times as long as the other four generations and fly south to Mexico. They are the Super Generation. She explained that one of the Wetlands’ tagged monarchs was actually found in Mexico. That’s a long journey from the Jersey shore! .Here is one taking off:
As we headed down the path, we learned a ton along the way. They have an interesting audio tour to engage and direct you. Try yourself. Dial 703-286-6525 and push “2” and you can hear about life in a salt marsh. Interesting stuff, huh? And if listening isn’t your thing, you can still learn a lot from the colorful signs throughout the walk.
The bridge out into the marsh was a great viewing spot.
When you want to get right out on the salt marsh, you can take the metal bridge and go on a “treasure hunt”, looking for creatures and interesting sights. The fiddler crab with his giant claw and a blue crab swimming in the inches-deep water attracted a lot of our attention.
We also saw the area where you can learn how to drag a seine net through the canal to learn about the creatures that live in the back bay. The Wetlands Institute has a lot of interesting programs in the summer to keep students and families interested. And they also have several Nature Education experiences for homeschoolers throughout the year.
And you can’t finish your tour without a stop in the bookstore.
Once, you’ve finished your exploration, stop back in to the small bookstore. It has highly educational books, games, and materials for every type of learner. I picked up a great book about nature trails and tours in the Jersey shore area!
Has this field trip piqued your interest in learning more about different types of watersheds? If so, check out our blog, “How to Be a Citizen Scientist: Join Winter Salt Watch” and join our email list for further updates as they become available.
