What We Can Learn from Our Surroundings - A Visit to Florida Oceanographic Society in Stuart, Florida

I recently visited my godson, his wife and daughter, and his brothers and mother in South Florida. We visited the Florida Oceanographic Society in Stuart, Florida and watched Isabelle, almost 4, play with stingrays, watch the fish being feed, and pick up the hermit crab among other things. She was mesmerized with the sea life and loved the animals and the outdoors!

During our visit we watched the stingrays swim around their manmade home and we saw one black sting ray. I didn’t think anything of it until a volunteer told us that there were no black sting rays – that was just a suntan and it would disappear after the sting ray was in the shade for a while. I thought that was pretty fascinating.

I also learned about the sea cucumber. I had first become aware of this sea creature, which looked like a cucumber on the bottom of the ocean, a few years ago during a trip to the keys. A volunteer told us that when the sea cucumber gets scared it can blow water out its mouth, and if it feels threatened it can blow its stomach out of its mouth, in essence kind of turning itself inside out. The stomach has a very undesirable aroma, which sends the predator away. The sea cucumber can then regrow its stomach.

We also learned about plants, one which smelled like a skunk if you were upwind at the wrong time and another that the Indians used to use to catch fish, I believe called a CoinVine. The CoinVine had small seeds. They would throw it in the water and it would reduce the oxygen in the water, so the fish would come to the surface…being easier to catch!

It’s interesting how nature, as well as humans, can adapt to their surroundings. Maybe we can learn a thing or two from plants, animals, and nature! There is even information for teachers and students at their website, http://www.floridaoceanographic.org/