Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center050

Named for a local conservationist, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center has been located in Crandon Park for more than three decades. This northernmost end of Crandon Park is an environmental study area, and is home to this cooperative project between Miami-Dade Public Schools, Miami-Dade Parks and Recreation, and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Foundation. Loaded with preserved Florida Coastline habitats, this center and its environs offer lots for kids and families. Check out one of the self-guided tours through the center. The Tequesta Hammock Trail is an easy 25 minute walk through the coastal hammock area. Osprey Beach Trail is a one hour walking trip offering a view to barrier island vegetation and wildlife. If you feel like adding a little more walk to this trail, follow the directions to Fossil Rock Reef, dating back to 64 AD, where at times you can see pelicans, loggerhead turtle tracks, sponges, and Stingrays or needlefish in the water. The Bear Cut Nature Trail, also one hour, gets its name from the black bears that used to inhabit the area (don't worry, they are no longer here!). Take in the information about ecology and local plants and mammals. Lastly, the Fossil Reef Bicycle Trail (approximately 30 minutes) winds throughout the hammock and Crandon Park. Read the self-guided tour before departing so you'll know what to look for. Paid tours with guide ($10/person) are offered and include a seagrass adventure (see Seaside Safari Birthday Parties, below) for children 5 and up, a 2-hour hammock hike, a 2.5 mile fossil reef walk for children 8 and up, and the fossil reef outback tour for children 10 and up. Pre-registration is required for guided tours, call 305.361.6767 to book. Inside the Nature Center, on the second floor, you'll find a display room containing several large aquariums demonstrating barrier and coral reef fish and fauna. Brief (3 minute) historical presentations accompany displays about the Tequesta Indians (early inhabitants of Key Biscayne who are now extinct) and animal preservation. A longer video about alligators is also available in this area. A table filled with sand and various archeological finds offers hands-on learning, and many sea animals and plants can be viewed in special magnifying glass containers. Children are encouraged to touch the shells and coral on the learning table, or read one of the nature books offered. The second floor also houses classrooms used by children (fifth grade to high school) from Miami-Dade Schools to learn about ecology and explore this coastal hammock region with trained instructors. Also on the second floor is a gift shop containing books, art, and some natural toys for kids. When we visited, the courtyard on the first floor had 3 carts with gifts for children, whereas the second floor store contained only a few children's objects and many breakable grown up objects. Head downstairs for kids' gifts to avoid the stress of breaking a $100 carved wooden bowl or other treasure. If your child is a nature lover, book a Seaside Safari Birthday Party, where guests explore the seagrass flats for two hours in the shallow water just off the beach. Ocean animals are collected (seahorses, pipefish, snapper, crabs, and parrot fish), and a naturalist from the center teaches about each animal found and its importance to the region. All animals are returned after the session and all equipment for collection (lifejackets, buckets, and nets) is provided by the center. Cost is $275 for up to 25 guests, and $10/person for additional guests, and includes the naturalist tour guide and equipment, and a Nature Center t-shirt and explorer certificate for the birthday child. You provide all food and paper products (no balloons allowed due to the danger they pose to sea animals) and one chaperone for every 5 children. All guests need to remember closed toe shoes (that can get wet), socks, towel, complete change of clothes, sunscreen, hat, and insect repellent. Call 305.361.6767, ext. 119, to reserve date and time. Membership to the Biscayne Nature Center is available for fees ranging from $10 (students 14 or younger) to $50 for a family. Entrance to the Nature Center is free with paid admission to Crandon Park ($4), therefore membership is purely to support the conservation efforts of this non-profit organization.