Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center

ABOUT THIS PLACE

It opened in 2007 and was rebuilt with over a million dollars of local and federal money into six thousand square feet of exhibits a person can walk through without getting wet. A living red mangrove with its arching roots stands inside, with animal calls to listen to and surfaces to touch; behind images of the seafloor, retractable cylinders open to show what lives in the seagrass. The coral section explains the only coral barrier reef in the continental United States and the restoration work under way, including a recreation of a coral nursery. A projected exhibit covers the more than two thousand ships wrecked in sanctuary waters, with a cannon from the Spanish fleet lost in 1733 among the objects. A replica of the Aquarius undersea laboratory is on display. A hundred-seat theater runs a twenty-minute film on a loop. Open Wednesday to Saturday, nine until four, and there is no charge