Amazing Adaptations Family Fun Fest

Biscayne National Park Volunteer Jeff Buell portrays TV's Gilligan for the "Lost in the '60s" <i>Family Fun Fest</i> in January 2009.

Thomas M. Strom

News Release Date: February 3, 2009

Contact: Gary Bremen, 305-230-1144, x3084

Just 4 days before the bicentennial of the birth of Charles Darwin, Biscayne National Park’s Family Fun Fest will celebrate with a look at how animals and plants adapt to their world, a subject that fascinates us as much as it did him on his famed voyage aboard HMS Beagle. The free event takes place on Sunday, February 8, 2009 at the park's Dante Fascell Visitor Center from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Stations located around the visitor center provide a variety of interactive and hands-on activities, including:

• You Eat Like a Bird! — Snack out while you discover what beak adaptations birds keep in their bag of tricks!
• Quick Change Artists— Help create a giant model of a color-changing squid!
• I Can’t See You! — Who’s watching as you take a “lonely” walk in the woods?
• Defense Twister — A lively twist on an old classic will help you discover how plants and animals defend themselves from predators. Left foot spines! Right hand camouflage!
• Parts is Parts — Humans, manatees and pelicans may look different, but we’ve got a lot in common!

Participants will receive a paper passport to be punched at each station as they complete the activities. Those who complete all five activities will earn a special button to help remember the day, and those who earn five buttons in a season will receive a Family Fun Fest Fanatic award in May.

Family Fun Fest takes place on the second Sunday of every month from January through May. Due to a conflict with Easter, the April event will take place on the first Sunday of that month (April 5). The series is made possible through a grant from the Captain Bob Lewis Boat Center Yamaha Billfish Challenge and the Bobby Duryea Memorial Fund at the South Florida National Parks Trust. Additional support this month comes from the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves, Dr. Roger Hanlon and the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, Homestead Senior High School, and a host of dedicated volunteers.

Future Family Fun Fest events in the 2009 season are:

• Legacy from the Past — March 8
  Celebrate Florida Archaeology Month with a look back at those who came before.
  
• Spring has Sprung! — April 5
  What’s the real story behind those bunnies, baskets and colored eggs?
  
• A Salute to Mom! — May 10
  Celebrate Mother’s Day with a tribute to some of the park’s best parents!

The Dante Fascell Visitor Center is located at 9700 SW 328 Street, nine miles east of Homestead, Florida. Call 305-230-7275, extension 0 for more information.

-NPS-