The Education Classroom

The Environmental Education Program at MacArthur Beach State Park is an adventure for the students of Palm Beach County.

Students learn about the coastal ecosystems, how to collect and analyze data; explore the Park as scientists using scientific tools – thermometers, anemometers, soil sifters, binoculars, microscopes, and scales. Students discover, observe, and compare, gaining an understanding of the how living things interact in the natural world.

MacArthur Beach State Park and the School District of Palm Beach County are proud of their successful partnership, which helps students get to the Park for Field Experiences, helps host Virtual Field Trips throughout the year and much more. 

CLASSROOM

The Pew Family Natural Science Education Center, opened in April 2011, has expanded the scope of what the Park can offer to children, teachers, families and adults. This state of the art facility is the heart of the Park’s learning and discovery programs.

The Education Center is where our education programs begin and end.  The state of the art classroom includes wet lab areas for research and study, collecting equipment to bring the outdoors in, compound and dissecting microscopes, and a SmartBoard for sharing information and Skyping with Scientists.

Imagine the intrigue  in collecting samples from the Estuary, bringing it inside the Education Center and being able to look “inside” the water! An entire wall of the facility is the wet lab area, fully outfitted with sinks, counter space, microscopes, and lab kits. The students learn to use microscopes and identify an entire world they never knew existed.

RESEARCH LIBRARY

The Research Library provides our staff with needed instructional resources for improving the quality of teaching, as well as to encourage staff, teachers, researchers and volunteers to engage in research, study and program development.

Resource materials are available for study of the Park’s eco-systems, including beaches, biology, botany, conservation, environmental education, estuaries, field guides, insects, mammals, maps, marine life, recreation, reptiles, natural, cultural and local history.

DISCOVERY LAB

When animals, fish, turtles or reptiles arrive at the Park, they must be isolated for a period of time to ensure their health and the safety of our other specimens.  Animals, new hatchlings and others must occasionally be isolated, growth of the animals must be recorded, and live food must have a place.

All these needs, and many more opportunities for learning, are met in the Discovery Lab.  Housed in the Education Center, the Lab provides Park staff, Researchers, Interns and Volunteers with a very needed work and research facility.

EDUCATION GALLERY

Located inside the Education Center, this exhibit is an educational focus for students, teachers, researchers and Park visitors, and is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Highlighting and demonstrating the ecosystems of the Park, From Trees to Seas provides a wonderful overview of the Park ecosystems.