Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center — Attraction in Jensen Beach

Such a great Place! Years ago they were tiny but just as great, now they have built and expanded so many beautiful and truly enriching experiences on the property. There is a beautiful gift shop when you walk in ( be prepared to want to shop, truly I wish I had for that in my budget it’s like a mermaid emporium) and then they have a stingray touch pool just outside that we’re you can sit and learn about them and also touch them- including toddlers which was very cool. My little 2 year old darling was so excited by them and would have jumped in if I let her ha! Next to that is an interactive young childrens area- both are outside. Then the newest attraction is a big “air conditioned” building with another interactive room with puzzles for older kids and then a nice small little museum type walk through that introduces you to our local marine ecosystems which was done really well. Again my toddler could not get enough and we spent a good hour walking through it several times over! Everyone is very nice and informative as well. Outside that is a huge estuary I guess you could say. A man made giant “ lagoon “ as it’s called there or big pond that has a huge walk around deck ( which also leads to some pretty cool wildlife trails) and in it you’ll find all sorts of big ocean life including turtles, stingrays, and even nurse sharks which was pretty cool to us!!!

I explained all this so that hopefully someone reading this can see how worthwhile it is to go here! You and your kids...

We had not been back to the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center for over 11 years. We used to live locally and had moved in 2005. We had gone quite often and whenever we had visitors. So, my mother and I decided to take my daughter who is 8 and niece who is 4 there on Sunday, July 24th 2016 and we got there right when they opened.

They have really improved the inside and outside. We were impressed with the changes. They did have some areas they could improve like broken slides where the microscope area was and better quality microscopes. The sound booth was awesome, kids and adults were using it. All of the employees and volunteers were very helpful and answered all of our questions and those of the children. They have daily events, like the Stingray Feeding and Educational Program, the Turtle Educational Program, etc then they have special events like Nighttime Sea Turtle Walk, Adopt a Beach Cleanup and numerous volunteering events. The Lagoon area and Sea Turtle Pavilion were new to us. The staff were so wonderful, answering all of our questions. Then they started talking to the children and telling them things about the sea animals they were seeing. We left earlier than anticipated due to a storm. However, we would so come back. It is worth it. They have really improved the center and I want to be able to walk the paths like I have in the past and see how much more they improved. This is a great place, check out their web site...

This review is really more about the people who works/volunteer here. I love this place!I think it' s really a great place to visit most especially for kids. It was just really disappointing how the people at the gift shop/entrance are today. We got there around noon-ish. No one's at the front desk,but there were people at the gift shop (one pretending to be busy doing something and not seeing us. she was almost near and facing the entrance door) also it was imposible to not notice 5 people coming in. We were standing there for awhile no one said anything. No hi/hellos welcome whatsoever. So we decided to walk past the gift shop and went to the counter inside the gift shop and ask the lady at the counter if that's where we buy tickets (who btw was just on her phone) again no greetings whatsover but straight up "yes!How many? " After I paid, she just went "you're all set!" Back to her phone!

Sure! We could have figured everything out on our own but really...not even a single detail of where to go,where to start, have we been there before bla bla bla...nothing! If I didn't ask then she wouldn't really bother sharing us details about the center.

We had more disappointing experience with the workers at the gift shop after our tour of the center. Different lady. But I'll just end it here.

I'd still recommend the place to visit just don't expect much from the people...