During a recent visit to Georgia, we had the opportunity to stay at the Jekyll Island Campground. It was not our first trip there. We also visited in June of 2016. During the 2016 visit, we were caught in a tropical storm on the island and didn’t venture out much to explore. We tried to remedy that during our most recent trip. One of the places we ventured out to was The Georgia Sea Turtle Center.
Address, Hours & Pricing
214 Stable Rd.
Jekyll Island, GA 31527
Hours: Daily 9 am – 5 pm, with a few exceptions for holidays
Pricing:
Adults (13 – 61) – $9
Seniors (62+) – $8
Children (4 – 12) – $7
Children (under 3) – free
Two Parts
The Sea Turtle Center has two parts to it, an educational center and the sea turtle rehabilitation hospital. We chose to do the sea turtle hospital first. At the door of the hospital, a sign appears and proudly displays all of the different types and numbers of turtles the hospital has been able to rehabilitate and release.
Upon entering, there are several very large tanks on the floor level. Most of these tanks are divided in 2 to allow for different turtles to be present at the same time. On the railing of the walkway, there are signs posted at each tank letting your know the turtle’s name, age, sex, weight, intake date, the condition that lead to them coming, and the treatments they have undergone since arriving.
Once back in the educational center, they have several interactive exhibits that you can do. One takes you on an adventure as a sea turtle. It guides you through real life situations that sea turtles face in the wild and educates you on how certain activities can shorten the life of a sea turtle. Another activity was a video game was a “Frogger” type video game, where you had to get the turtle across the 4 lane road to lay an egg and back to win the game.
In Closing
The educational center shared tons of information for people of all ages. We attended with 2 17 yr olds and an 11 yr old and all had a great time. Even the adults got in on the learning.
