Finding activities for the family, school groups, or personal fun with your child can be difficult if you don’t know where to start. Luckily, being connected to the education community provides our experts with St. Cecelia Catholic School, a bit of an insight on fun activities that also stimulate learning. In today’s blog, we’ll provide some options for the whole family that encourage a love for science.

Suncoast Youth Conservation Center

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) partnered with The Florida Aquarium to create the Suncoast Youth Conservation Center (SYCC) in Apollo Beach. The SYCC is the educational hub for the Florida Conservation and Technology Center, and provides outdoor classrooms to learn about science and the environment. 

Field trip opportunities from schools and summer camps are available at the SYCC year round. Programs are available free of charge, but transportation is not provided. Families and schools are welcome to attend.

The SYCC focuses on providing opportunities for: kayaking, hiking, boardwalk strolls, wildlife observation in the observation tower, and wildlife approved fishing activities. 

Challenge Island 

This is a summer STEAM program designed to teach Pre-K to 5th grade students the engineering process. The island provides a creative space for students to learn about problem solving, analytical and critical thinking, and how art is involved with engineering. 

The space is designed to provide challenges for students to complete, and now offers a digital experience for students that don’t live in Florida. 

iFLY Indoor Skydiving

Though this experience isn’t fully outdoors, there is plenty of STEM education involved with the execution of the activities for ages 3 and older. 

A state-of-the-art wind tunnel is used to teach all attendees grade-appropriate levels of physics and engineering. 

Field trips are offered through reservation only, and align with Next Generation Science Standards, Sunshine State Standards, Common Core K-12, and TEKS. 

The Florida Aquarium

The Florida Aquarium specializes in offering summer camps that are featured as Aqua Camps. These camps allow for up close encounters with wildlife, and Ocean Conservation education. 

Age groups are allowed between 3 and 14 years of age. Schools and personal parties are welcome to participate. Transportation is not included. Lunch options are available, and can be included upon reservation. 

Related Post: Tips To Prevent Summer Learning Loss

Summer Learning at St. Cecelia Catholic School

As an institution, we work hard to encourage a love of learning in all of our students. This includes incorporating that love of learning on school breaks. If you’re interested in acquiring more ideas on summer learning, feel free to Contact St. Cecelia online or call (727) 461-1200 if you have any questions.