Ponce Inlet, FL - Residents and families with children are being invited to a celebration of Volusia County's native animals.
The Marine Science Center has announced that they will be hosting an event known as "Wildlife Fest" which will contain many events related to wildlife around Volusia County and some of the rehabilitation that MSC does.
Chad Macfie with MSC says that some of the activities and shows include some exhibitors from other nature, marine and environmental organizations. Visitors will also be able to interact with some of the wildlife and take part in a few educational activities with MSC.
One of the activities includes a bald eagle triage tent, where kids can purchase a stuffed bald eagle or bring a stuffed toy of their own so they can see how MSC treats injured birds.
"We'll go over some of the medical treatments that we do on our birds at the Marine Science Center and have kids help 'treat' the birds they bring in."
Shark fishing is also one of the activities available for kids, but of course they're not real sharks. Kids can catch the fake sharks and MSC will help kids identify some of the sharks they catch. They can also dig through a sandbox and help MSC find fossilized shark teeth.
Visitors can also see some of the rehabilitation MSC does for turtles.
"While our sea turtle hospital is also open, we will have a number of pools where turtles are going through rehabilitation," says Macfie. "The pools will have educational signs that go over some of the treatments we perform. And we have a window looking into our operation room so if any treatments or procedures are going on visitors can observe and learn more about the treatments."
And Macfie also said that at 3 p.m., if the conditions are right, visitors can watch as MSC releases a group of rehabilitated pelicans back into the wild.
The event begins this morning at 10 a.m., admission is free and there will also be live music and food.
Wildlife Fest takes place at the Marine Science Center, located at 100 Lighthouse Drive in Ponce Inlet.
For more information, you can visit the Marine Science Center website or give them a call at 386-304-5545.
