Biscayne Bowl Family Fun Fest

Date: January 4, 2015
Contact: Gary Bremen, 305-230-1144, x007

How do you keep track of dolphins on (and in) the field? What plant has the greatest defense? What can you learn from a "quarter back?" Biscayne National Park's Family Fun Fest joins in Bowl-Mania with a look at some of the park's connections to one of America's favorite sports! Join the fun from 1-4 pm on Sunday, January 11, 2015 at the park's Dante Fascell Visitor Center, 9 miles east of Homestead. The event is free and open to all. Visitors are also encouraged to wear their favorite team's colors, and to ride the free Homestead National Parks Trolley to and from the event. Visit www.CityofHomestead.com/Gateway for trolley details.

"Biscayne Bowl"will feature five hands-on and engaging activity stations located around the visitor center. An additional Family Fun Fest Junior station offers an opportunity for creative play for toddlers. The 5 stations are:

• Go Fins! –Practice identifying dolphins in the field, just like real scientists do!
• The Mangrove Combine –Do you have what it takes to make the defensive team? Mangroves do!
• Quarter Backs –Start your collection of National Park Quarters…and try your hand at designing something new!
• Mascots Galore! –Football mascots have to be inspiring. What's the real story behind some of the most popular?
• Halftime! –Join the TV crew for a review of game highlights and a special performance by Pop-diva Meghan Triggerfish!

Participants receive a passport to get stamped at each activity station, and those who complete all five activities (or two Family Fun Fest Junior activities) will earn a specially-designed button to remember the day. Earning all five buttons in a season earns a Family Fun Fest Fanatic award in April.

Upcoming Family Fun Fests this season include:

• Oodles of Ologies! – February 8, 2015 — Paleontology, geology, climatology, hydrology…scientists study all kinds of cool stuff!
• Inside Edition: SpongeBob – March 8, 2015 — Biscayne National Park pokes fun at a popular kids cartoon!
• Quinceañera: Fifteen Years of FFF – April 12, 2015 — It's a fact of life. Everybody grows up…even Family Fun Fest!

Family Fun Fest is made possible through the donations of generous visitors and the Bobby Duryea Fund at the South Florida National Parks Trust, with additional support from the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves, NOAA's Southeast Fisheries Science Center and a host of dedicated volunteers.

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. For regular updates from the park, "like" us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/BiscayneNPS and "follow" us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BiscayneNPS