Sandoway Discovery Center

Sandoway provides educational experiences of Florida's environmental and historical sciences dealing with native coastal and marine environments, as well as promotes conservation of our natural resources, beaches, and plant life. In 2023, Sandoway was open six days a week and had 16,852 visitors learn about conservation and preservation. One third of those visitors attended our daily educational shark and stingray feedings which teaches The importance of conserving our oceans' top predator. Sandoway has educational displays, animal exhibits and aquariums intended for guests of all ages to learn about The local environment. All Sandoway's animals have been donated as unwanted pets, were injured, or rehabilitated but unable to be released to The wild. They are used daily for educational classes that give visitors and students a chance for an interactive and informative experience.

Sandoway offers a vibrant gateway to south Florida's fragile marine life and freshwater environments for children, families, regional, national, and international visitors. Recognizing The limited access to and deep need for palm beach county's children to understand crucial s.t.e.m (science, technology, engineering, math) concepts, and be able to relate them in a meaningful way to The natural world around them, we developed our junior naturalist program which offers hands-on, activity-based programs in environmental education for grades k-12. This program is compatible with next generation sunshine state science standards, and palm beach county schools have approved our junior naturalist program curriculum. We are focusing where our hands-on educational support is needed most, on palm beach county's title one schools, programs that serve children who are at risk of academic failure, and those from low socio-economic and minority populations. In 2023, over 4,232 students participated in this program from local schools and camps looking to explore southeastern Florida's native natural habitat.