Animal Lesson #14: Winter the Dolphin at Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida

Winter, the dolphin movie star

 If your kids grew up watching Dolphin Tale movie (2011)  about a boy and a dolphin whose tail was lost in a crab trap, they likely have special interest in visiting Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida.  The authors wrote the story based upon Winter the bottlenose dolphin and the Clearwater Marine Aquarium acted as the hero in creating a prosthetic so she could swim well.  The movie had such success that producers made a sequel called Dolphin Tale 2 (2014).  This sequel introduces a new dolphin superstar named Hope.  There's two other movie charters that live at the aquarium in real life - 1) Nicholas, a stranded dolphin briefly featured in Dolphin Tale and filmed in Dolphin Tale 2, 2) Rufus, a great white pelican trained for both movies and lives with 3 other great white pelicans.  Winter passed away in Nov. 2021, but you can still visit Hope at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

We visited during Spring Break and the place had quite the crowd.  My daughter even found a classmate from Illinois!  However, the facility significantly expanded since our trip, so enjoy the space.  There's no doubt that Winter was the star of the show and handlers showed the prosthetic and how well she could swim.  However, the aquarium offered other shows too and the animals showed off impressive stunts.  Kids will learn about conservation too.  The facility hosts many free talks throughout the day including 

Turtle Talk, Otter Talk, Resident Dolphin Talk, 

Stingray Talk, and Shark Talk.  

Turtle photo by Krenda

We listened to most of them and visited all the exhibits which included river otters, turtles, stingrays, sharks, and pelicans.

If you want to extend your experience, the aquarium offers a stingray feeding experience in which you can feed fish to stingray for $10 extra fee.  You can also purchase a 60-minute dolphin and wildlife tour boat ride, $20 for child or adult, which travels around a bird sanctuary island while the crew discusses local wildlife.

Aquarium entrance fee cost nearly $40 for adults and $30 for kids, but the fee supports a good cause.  The aquarium is run by a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of sick and injured marine animals.  Marine animals not fit to release remain at the aquarium.  Hats off to the aquarium employees, real heroes of the marine world.

Clearwater Marin Aquarium lists as a dolphinarium in wikipedia.  I didn't realize the special term for an aquarium for dolphins at marine parks, zoos, or theme parks.  I realized we have visited many other dolphinariums including Sea World, Georgia Aquarium, Indianapolis Zoo, Brookfield Zoo, Shedd Aquarium, and Texas State Aquarium.  See also my blog article about a dolphin encounter in Honduras.  Our family just can't get enough of these smart creatures.

 

Music Lesson #3: Summerfest, The World’s Largest Music Festival

 If you love music and want to share the love, take your family to Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  This festival features a wide variety of music and spans generations.  You will see fans of all ages. 

This festival offers such a memorable experience that author Patricia Schultz include Summerfest in 1,000 Places to See Before You Die book.  She describes the history: “It all began in 1961 with Summerfest, an 11-day celebration of music and food that gets bigger and better every year.  Yesterday’s tents have been replaced by a dozen permanent stages…”

I’m old enough to reflect on attending concerts as a child and bringing my kids to the festival.  When I was a kid, we spent most of our time at one big stage.  We had one concert to target.  I still remember fondly the excitement of seeing Tina Turner singing and dancing at high energy, Janet Jackson’s showmanship, and my mom’s excitement over hearing Julio Iglesias sing live.  Now you don’t even need to visit the biggest stage; you can hop from one stage to another.

With concerts overlapping at multiple stages, deciding which concert to attend can be a challenge.  You’ll want to check out the Summerfest website and map out the concerts you want to see.  Map out the timing and stage locations.  We walked quickly walked from one stage to another to see four concerts in one night.  We danced and sang with the Village People, KC and The Sunshine Band, The Commodores, and Third Eye Blind, all in one night.  Even our kids had spelled out YMCA at so many wedding receptions that it felt surreal to do it with the band.  We had great conversations about early decades, especially the 1970s.

Single day tickets cost $26, 3-day pass $62 (any 3 days), or 9-day pass ($130).  None of these entry tickets include concerts at the American Family Amphitheater.  You can enter with a purse, tote, or cinch bag 9”x 10” x 12” or smaller.  Don’t try to enter with a backpack or cooler.

Geography Lesson #4: Stingray Encounter in Cozumel, Mexico

I've always found stingrays fascinating.  If an aquarium has a stingray exhibit, I know I'll spend extra time just watching their graceful movement.  Often the aquariums will make the stingray section a hands-on exhibit and you can feel their softness.  

Stingrays at Singray Beach, photo by Krenda

Stingrays have existed since the Jurassic period 150 million years ago.  They belong to the cartilaginous fish family like sharks because they have cartilage skeletons rather than bones.  Also similar to sharks, they have Lorenzeni sensors to pick up electrical signals from their prey.  Stingray prey include bivalves, worms, and crustaceans.  The stingray defend themselves with camouflage light colored bellies that reflect the ocean floor, barbs at the base of their tail, and venom.  Stingrays classify as dangerous sea creatures and thousands of injuries occur each year, so pay attention to the safety talks of the experts.  We learned that you should shuffle your feet in the sand, so you don't accidently step on a resting stingray.  Stingrays are bottom dwelling sea animals, bury themselves in sand, and like the shallow warm water.

We took a Spring Break cruise and I felt excitement about the Stingray Beach excursion which allows you to feed stingray in the ocean. In researching the facility, they take care of their animal health, especially watching for healthy babies or 'pups' each year.  The Ray Encounter excursion includes 30 minutes for an educational orientation and feeding.  The employees break the group into smaller groups and you enter a shallow area.  Tourists take turn feeding stingrays, feeling their mouth suck up food.  Kids may even giggle or squeal to feel the stingrays.  One of the stingrays even gave me a kiss.  After the feeding, the excursion includes 30 minutes for snorkeling in the deeper portion of the fenced ocean section.  After the guided snorkeling, the instructor let us stay longer in this section.  At up to 18 feet deep, we enjoyed both observing stingrays and fish.  The kids also liked the inflatable trampoline and the resident iguana.

In the wild, I don't think you'd likely see so many stingray gathered.  Stingray tend to have solitary behavior and then they gather for breeding and migration.  Their dark brown or gray flattened topside and sand burying behavior could make them undetected if not looking carefully.  Plus they are nocturnal.  Many other cruise ports offer stingray experiences including Antigua, Balmoral Islands Bahamas, Discover Cove Jamaica, Shark Alley in Belize, and the most visited stingray city in Cayman Islands.