It is that time of year once again where thoughts turn to family vacations and the great outdoors. If you’re looking for something fun and unique to do with your kids this summer, I heartily recommend the Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Panacea, Florida (www.gulfspecimen.org). This interactive specimen supply aquarium/rehabilitation center houses a literal cross section of ocean creatures from the Gulf of Mexico. 

I can promise you your kids will walk out of there talking about the experience for days. I know this as a fact because that’s what happened with my kids. They had been with their schools, so we visited the center last summer, and were impressed away with the exhibits and the professionalism of the staff there. Watching your child overcome the fear of holding that first spider crab, urchin or sea pork is something you will never forget. 

A volunteer I know from here in Thomasville told me it never gets old seeing a little one go from silent reserve to compulsively picking up every critter in the tank. He took great delight in showing me a sea squirt up and personal (it’s a little sponge found on everything along the forgotten coast that ejects water when picked up, kind of like natures squirt gun). Please don’t squeeze them though — with proper aim as you pull them from the water they will find a target!

The highlight of your visit very well might be the sea turtles. Of course, the turtles are only there for as long as they need some help, but in this day and age it is almost a given you ill see one. Currently there is a massive loggerhead being nursed back to good health. You may be lucky enough to see her feed on a tasty blue crab.

And that isn’t even the tip of the oyster bed — you’ll see stingrays, lion fish, sea horses, slugs and urchins, just a bit of everything up to and including octopi, many kinds of sport fish — and yes, sharks! 

Unlike many other aquariums, the exhibits are not overwhelming and dark, this aquarium has a much more personal scale. There are many touch tanks here and biodiversity is greater than you see anywhere else. You may be surprised to find your kids may have been here before you on the various field trips and outreach programs GSML offers through the schools. The facility is very hands-on with tanks labeled “touch” and “no touch” and plaques identifying the creatures inside them.

Ever see horseshoe crabs up close and personal? Living fossils, they are one of the oldest nearly unchanged organisms on the planet. Looking like a horse hoof and with feet that look like claws, they are no more related to crabs than they are a horse. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you what their closest relatives are, so I’ll give you a hint — they live on land and have four pairs of legs (spiders). Although they look like they might do you damage, they are harmless. Grab yourself up one and hold it over the tank (but not by the tail, don’t want to hurt them)! 

Jack Rudloe started this place collecting these and other creatures for his college buddies back in the 1960s and the facility grew out of necessity. Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that provides marine life to schools and research laboratories. They study endangered species and conduct research in “mariculture” — that’s farming the edge of the sea for you and me. Sea urchins and sponges from the lab have even become astronauts.

Today they are an integral part of numerous research programs all over the United States, Canada and Europe. Apparently if you build it, they will come, because all the Panacea kids started coming by every day to see what is new in Jacks tanks. Eventually the aquarium opened to the public and GSML began to more strongly emphasize educational programs for regional schools, including ours at home in Thomasville/Thomas County.

The best news of all? It is inexpensive as far as summer family excursions go, and not only quite enjoyable but very educational at the same time. Buy a ticket for the day, or splurge on a family yearly membership and come and go as you please during visiting hours. Add to the mix that it is less than an hour away from Thomasville and Thomas County and you have all the makings of one fantastic day trip for you and your family. You may even find you want to get involved as a volunteer. The staff is always looking for help with daily routines and specimen collection.

Making this all the better is the fact that there are some wonderful restaurants, beaches, campgrounds, public boat launches and fishing piers, plus national forest right in the vicinity of the facility. Spend your morning on Mashes sands watching the sunrise and swimming, escape the heat of the day at the aquarium and top off the day with a dip in one of the many springs on your way home. Better even yet, camp out or stay somewhere along a leisurely drive on 98 and schedule a whole day at the aquarium — it’s going to take a while to see all the creatures.

It isn’t every day that you get to high five a stingray, have an octopus study you or hang out with a six-foot nurse shark. Make the trip to Panacea and you’ll be able to make that memory of a lifetime with your loved ones and much, much more. Bring your future oceanographer so they can get a jump start. In my book, that is a win-win for everybody involved.

I promise you won’t leave crabby!