For ages 2-5, but friends & family welcome
Hear a little story, do a little dance, and learn little ways to make a big difference for marine life before gently exploring the beach and some tide pools with your little ones. Each program features a new animal that we spend time learning about before exploring the beach. These fun programs are sponsored by the City of Burien to connect families with our shared watershed to build stewardship, social-emotional learning, and motor skills. Bring your boots and curiosity and leave with special memories and a sense of awe.
This program is free with REQUIRED registration, for all adults and tot explorers:
New for Summer 2023:
We are offering 4 program dates this summer and extending our exploration time to 1.5 hours based on your feedback from last year. This way we have more time to look for animals, navigate the beach, and learn together. Registration for each date will open a month before the program to allow for more people to register throughout the summer.
For more information contact Katy at Katy@EnvironmentalScienceCenter.org
How To Be A Beach STAR!
Remember to always:
S tep carefully
T ouch with two wet fingers
A nimals stay where they are
R emove only trash
S hare what you learned!
Tide Pools for Tots Resources
Watch how toddlers and you can easily be beach STARS!
Step carefully: Be very cautious when walking on the beach so you don’t trip and fall, or step on animals, their homes, or eggs. Much life is at your feet, and the creatures, shells and even rocks are all important parts of the beach habitat.
Touch with two wet fingers: It is kind to give animals space and watch from a safe distance. Some animals and eggs are too sensitive for handling, but others can be touched gently. If you touch marine organisms, your skin has to be wet. Touching their wet bodies with a dry finger can be very harmful. Using two fingers limits poking with just one. Be extremely gentle with them all. Do not touch crabs bigger than your fist.
Animals stay where you find them: This is important for the safety of everyone. Bend over to look at animals instead of picking them up. Let others know of your discovery and ask them to join you. Marine animals evolved to live in different conditions, so moving small animals even small distances can mean life or death for them, and they may injure themselves trying to escape.
Remove only trash: The one thing we physically take from the beach: TRASH! Leave rocks and shells on the beach since they are current or potential homes for marine organisms and will also break down into sand. Keep all other natural items in their habitat.
Share what you learned! Share your observations, discoveries and ways we can take care of marine life! This helps others learn about these incredible creatures and systems and inspires them to protect marine ecosystems too!