Date: June 2, 2016
Location: EcoDiscovery Center at Key West
Blog Post By: Bryce Jurkouich
EcoDiscovery: Eco-Yes or Eco-No?
When
you first approach the building that houses the EcoDiscovery center one might
feel underwhelmed, the outside has little on it for decoration, save for a
small ocean mural by the entrance way which wasn’t very large. However once you enter the building all the worries
you might have had were swept away faster than you could gasp at the marvel
that opened up in front of you. Upon entering
you are immediately greeted by a desk which in our visit housed a very nice and
very knowledgeable volunteer worker.
Behind that desk are the live exhibits and to the left was the more traditional
museum displays. When I saw them I could
sense the thought and care that was put into each individual exhibit. The live exhibit had many different fish
tanks, the main one featured local fish species, including parrotfish and a West
Indian sea egg, which happened to be eating a small shrimp when we walked in. On the opposite wall separated from the local
fish was the invasive Lionfish, which during a horrible accident was introduced
into the Caribbean Sea many years ago.(pictured Below)
The more traditional part
of the museum had information on nearly every type of local habitat you could
imagine, its interactive exhibits had information on all the marine habitats,
including Deep Ocean all the way to coral reef, and terrestrial habitats
including a mangrove forest edge. (Pictured Below)
In the theater of the EcoDiscovery
Center there was a short twenty minute film on an artist that drew inspiration from
the ocean and the mangrove forests that exist naturally around Florida’s coast
line. When we watched the film we were impressed
by all the breath taking footage of the local Florida ecosystems and the
information on conservation that was contained in it. Having walked through the hall of the
EcoDiscovery Center in Key West Florida I can say without a doubt it is an
Eco-Yes.
To find more information
about the EcoDiscovery Center go here
Or to find more
information of habitats in Florida here
I loved the volunteer at the front! She was super informative and enthusiastic about what she supported and I feel like it made people want to learn more. Their exhibits were small, but very informative, especially for people who know nothing about the tropical life in the Keys. They made things simple to learn, but still a little challenging for those who knew more (like us).
ReplyDeleteThe Ecodiscovery center was one of my favorite places we stopped that day. I had no idea what the inside was going to look like but it truly surprised me. I learned a lot about Floridas' habitats and the species that inhabit them. I especially enjyed learning more about the difference between soft and hard shelled corals because they had the live tanks! I thought it was so interesting and the organisms inside were beautiful! It really was a great exhibit.
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