With so many excited visitors, our volunteer docents are a critical part of the Manatee Viewing Center’s operation. Come face to face, or we should say snout to snout, with the dangers manatees face and learn how we can help protect these marvelous mammals! Volunteer You can also learn about a few of our local manatees. Meander through a mangrove tunnel, drift along a seagrass bed and take a dive into a spring. Inspect actual manatee bones and piece together puzzles. Inside the environmental education building, colorful displays immerse you in the world of the manatee and its habitat. We have solar tables throughout the trails where you can relax under the shade of the solar panels while charging your phone or other electronics. On clear days, you can see all the way across Tampa Bay! Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy at one of the tables at the base of the tower. Marvel at the surrounding habitat, including the estuary below, from a 50-foot-high vantage point. Halfway along the habitat trail is a boardwalk that takes you to our wildlife observation tower. Additional trails and boardwalks connect you to all of the Florida Technology and Conservation Center. It showcases a variety of plant and animal life, immersing visitors in a peaceful, natural Florida setting. Trails and TowerĬonnected to the Manatee Viewing Center is a coastal habitat trail that winds eight-tenths of a mile through saltern, coastal high marsh and coastal strand habitats. It offers a fascinating look at cownose rays swimming just inches away, lightly grazing your fingertips as they glide past. The tank, part of a partnership with the Florida Aquarium, is the off-season home of the actual mascots of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays. Manatees aren't the only creatures you can see up close at Tampa Electric's Manatee Viewing Center – there’s also a Rays Touch Tank. At the end of the walkway, you can view manatees in Big Bend Power Station's clean, warm water discharge canal. Guests can download this map into the free Avenza map application to see their exact location on the FCTC campus.Ī featured part of the Great Florida Birding Trail, the Manatee Viewing Center's tidal walk offers more than just vibrant birdlife – it’s also one of the best spots to view manatees! On this 900-foot, ADA-compliant walkway you’ll see a variety of native coastal plants and trees, as well as animal life. Snouts up - the manatees are the star of the show, but there’s much more to see and learn! The Manatee Viewing Center is just one part of the Florida Conservation & Technology Center. Tampa Electric is proud to offer free parking and admission to all who visit! We are closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and Easter. Hours: Open daily from November 1 - April 15, 10 a.m. Location: 6990 Dickman Rd., Apollo Beach, FL 33572 Our discharge canal is a state and federally designated manatee sanctuary that provides critical protection from the cold for these unique, gentle animals. In the winter months the manatees leave colder waters to return to this warm and welcoming refuge.īecause of this uniquely unusual migration, we’ve built the Manatee Viewing Center so everyone could have a chance to see manatees gather. And by a stroke of POWERful luck, Tampa Electric can provide it to them! Our Big Bend Power Station in Apollo Beach circulates water from Tampa Bay for cooling, then sends the water flowing clean and warm back into the bay. Hello, Human! Come visit us at Tampa Electric’s Manatee Viewing Center!
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