Mangrove Mania Family Fun Fest

Date: May 4, 2008
Contact: Gary Bremen, 305-230-1144, x3084

All trees are terrific, but mangroves are magnificent! They provide food and shelter for wildlife, protect property from storm surge, and have some truly amazing adaptations. On Sunday, May 11, Biscayne National Park will present the final Family Fun Fest of the 2008 season. Mangrove Mania! will take placefrom 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Biscayne National Park’s Dante Fascell Visitor Center. The free event features a variety of stations located around the visitor center that provide a variety of interactive and hands-on activities including:

• Last Defense— How do mangroves protect the mainland from hurricane storm surge?
• Mangrove Darts— A fun game with an educational “aim!”
• Chain, Chain, Chain!— Learn about producers, herbivores and carnivores as you build a food chain.
• Home on the Roots— Help create an origami mangrove menagerie!
• Paddle Puzzle—Paddle a canoe to get clues to solving a scientific mystery!

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. Participants who have attended all five events in 2008, and can prove it by presenting their buttons on May 11, will also receive a Family Fun Fest Fanatic award. Photographs taken at the events will be posted to the park’s website.

Family Fun Festtakes place on the second Sunday of every month from January through May. 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, 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.