Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, Part 1

One of the places we visited on our trip to Boca Raton is the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. When I started looking for activities to do while King J was in class, this facility looked promising. A little fun, a lot of education, and a chance to see different wildlife. Little did I know that this would be THE highlight of our time in that city. We were fortunate that Gumbo Limbo was accessible to us through the hotel shuttle. Otherwise, we might have missed the opportunity.


Anyway, we showed up just after 9:00 am Tuesday morning, and discovered we were the first visitors of the day. Gumbo Limbo doesn’t charge admission, but they suggest a donation of $5 per person.  If you ever have the opportunity to visit Gumbo Limbo, please do so.  It was a truly amazing place.

While I was at the counter getting a map and becoming oriented to the facility, one of the Program Interpreters, Evan, had already taken E over to a marine aquarium and began showing her the creatures in there. The sea cucumbers were fascinating to me.  I wish I had a photo to post of a sea cucumber. 

We wandered through the visitor’s center for a bit and took in the sights there. There was a hands-on display (perfect for E) to feel various creatures and guess what they were. Like me, E was hesitant to stick her hand into a place she could not see, especially considering there were snakes nearby. The staff assured us there was nothing alive in any of the cubbies. Ha! We must’ve made an interesting sight.

They also had a wall with photographs of sea shells and descriptions of those shells. The challenge was to match them. It wasn’t nearly as easy as one might think.

There weren’t too many snakes, three I think, but I was glad to see them hanging out in the corners of their cages.


One of the buildings out back houses the FAU Research Gallery.  Students at Florida Atlantic University conduct studies to help learn more about sea turtles, stingrays and seahorses.  In one container, they have a sea turtle that is lightly attached to a wire that prevents him from hurting himself by bumping into walls.  Then, there were lots and lots of little sea turtles that were housed in little containers that looked a lot like strawberry baskets.  Apparently, the sea turtles can be very aggressive with each other, so this allows them to be studied while keeping them safe from each other.

Taking photographs of subjects in water is difficult, especially since flash isn't allowed and would reflect back anyway.  These are some of the best.