Sandoway Discovery Center — Attraction in Delray Beach

The exhibits were very nice and super informative and it is located right on the beach and next to some great resteraunts. Our only complaint is that the Head of Staff (a woman) was extremely rude and hostile from the moment we enter and till we left. We presented some passes the Library gave us and we traveled pretty far to use them. The library gave them to us the last week of July apparently right before they expired. We did not notice that in the small print they had just expired. The Head of staff was not lenient at all she throw a huge fit about not accepting the passes and haughtily turning us out, mind you these passes were gifted to four and six year old children as a prize for completing a summer long reading program designed to help children of low income families excell at reading. It was a mere $20 so grandma paid because we were already there and was trying to keep the mood light and fun for the kids. There was a super nice gentle man caring for the animals whom took the time to teach the children and show them the animals. We did notice some of the animals enclosures were small, but we were informed that they are working on replacing them with larger ones soon. He also help our elderly Grandma up the elevator . He was very patient and courteous. The front cashier in the gift store was also very polite and helpful. Toward the end we attempted to return and see the shark feeding which happen later in the day. It was difficult coming back as grandma was getting tired and could not move as fast so we were ten minutes late , but the kids went in ahead of us and as I help grandma in . Well, the super rude lady was hosting the live shark feeding and though she saw the boys and knew they wanted to see the feeding she proceeded to ignore them. As she was very involved in a conversation with the one other patron who had attended the feeding she toss the food in and when the youngest of our children missed it, he began to whimper sadly and she went off on him saying, “ Well you missed , we have our feedings at a certain time and we can only feed them a certain amount....” her tone was quite harsh and she was apparently completely annoyed with our children and us ( God only knows for what reason). She really ruin the ending of our trip. But hopefully she was just having a bad day because it really is a nice place to visit and take...

Incredible place to visit with my 8 yr old.

Sandoway is located in an historic restored home just across the street from the beach. Perfect place to cool off or visit during the rain. It's on the small side but is packed with great activities.

On the deck outside is a very friendly entertaining macaw parrot, a friendly box turtle, more turtles, a tortoise, and tabletop sandbox fossil dig for $1.

The first floor has beautiful aquarium setups with incredible corals & creatures. There's a microscope lab room with guided discovery booklets for each grade level. There's fossil displays, shark teeth displays and aquariums with small sharks, alligators & snakes.

Outside is a manta ray touch tank & a tank with three big nurse sharks, bat rays and a big puffer fish. Check website for feeding times. The handler is entertaining and shares an incredible amount of shark knowledge during the feeding. * There was a 10 yr old birthday kid there who was able to assist and feed the sharks. We were told that the feeding opportunity is avail for big kids with a signed waiver. Must call to reserve a space for training in advance. *

Upstairs is a kids room with books, stuffies, models, etc with an outdoor observation deck, a nocturnal room with possum and owl and the SHELL MUSEUM. The shell collection has specimens from all over the world and is super organized in pull out drawers that even a 2yr old was able to access. As an avid shell gatherer, my kiddo was mesmerized by all of the beautiful examples.

We had a blast and stayed for 2hrs. Well worth admission.

Hours: TUES - SAT: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM SUN: 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM MON: CLOSED CLOSED MAJOR HOLIDAYS $5 Per Person Ages 3 and Up

Parking: 3 public lots surrounding Sandoway. Free parking pass is avail at admissions desk for use in the...

Best low budget thing for a family to do. It's worth the parking pass alone. It was awesome. Honestly. Staff was great. It's very casual. Every one just enjoyed this place alot. So much more than expected. Family of 7 ages 3,5,6,12,14,31,35.

Had a black room with an owl! Like plain view. No net to darken it's environment hindering your view.

Also in the dark room was biggest opossum I've ever seen. So cute. Wanted to cuddle up with it.

Snakes alligators and lizards. The greeter was holding a baby python. Kids don't like snakes. She was reallygreat with what kids to let touch and didn't pressure the fearful children(or me) at all.

The animals were happy and it was very peaceful.

It was a house not a business, I felt at home walking thru.

Majority of thee place is hands on.

The had living coral. Nice touch considering it's mostly bleached and dead. You can find white pieces all over the beach like the sea shells.

Oh ..they also have a crazy sea shell collection laid out very well. Like 10,000 shells from all over the world.

If your ever within an hour of...