Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center

The Coastal Center is fifty-seven acres between the ocean road and the Indian River, run by a society whose business is the health of the lagoon. The public part is a loop: a 750,000-gallon game-fish lagoon where snook, tarpon, redfish and a resident nurse shark are fed in front of you; a stingray pavilion where children feed the rays by hand; the sea turtle hospital, where injured loggerheads and greens are nursed and released; and a trail through the mangroves to a boardwalk on the river.

Timed feedings run through the day and are the thing to plan around. The stingray feeding at the pavilion and the game-fish feeding at the lagoon each draw a crowd and each last fifteen minutes; the turtle rounds are quieter and the staff will answer anything. In summer the centre runs the island’s guided turtle walks, which book out weeks ahead.

It is next door to the Elliott Museum and across the road from Stuart Beach, which makes the three an easy day. Allow two hours, more with children. The gift shop sells the field guides that the Lantern Bookshop in town keeps running out of.

Good to know

• Check the feeding times at the gate and plan around them.
• The stingray pavilion is the one thing most children remember.
• Turtle walks in June and July book out weeks ahead; reserve early.
• The river trail is shaded and the lagoon is not; bring a hat.
• Combined visits with the Elliott Museum next door fill a wet day.