Lowcountry Estuarium Tour

We did it! December 4, 2007 we went to the Lowcountry Estuarium in Port Royal for a great fieldtrip. There were five families present which made it a great number. The Lowcountry Estuarium is a learning center designed to provide hands-on learning about the coastal environments of our beautiful area, such as salt marshes, beaches, coastal waters, and estuaries. The tour began at the Estaurium building with a presentation that featured several tanks with creatures from the Port Royal Sound. After leaving the building we went down to The Sands to get a close look at the sound, along with the plant and animal life there. Most of us found great shells and a few shark teeth. Following the entire tour we went to the Port Royal Park for a lunch fellowship.

Facts about the Estaurium

An estuarium is similar to an aquarium. Aquariums usually have live specimens and exhibits that showcase freshwater or marine species. An estuarium exhibits terrestrial and aquatic specimens that live in brackish water and saltwater environments.

Estuaries are areas where fresh water from the land and salt water from the ocean meet and mix, such as in our coastal rivers. An estuary can be as small as a tidal creek or as large as a bay. Port Royal Sound and St. Helena Sound are estuaries located in Beaufort County.

As a learning center, the Lowcountry Estuarium showcases the unique and special organisms and habitats found in the Lowcountry. Some of the ecosystem exhibits include: Diamond back terrapin habitat - Habitat for several species of crabs - Game fish habitat - Food web interactions - Estuary awareness We learned to respect and take care of our unique ecosystem.

The Origin of Estuaries

Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens." So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." So the evening and the morning were the fifth day. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." Genesis 1:20-23, 28