How to Explore Tide Pools With Kids

Exploring tide pools with kids can be exciting and fun. Tide pools form when water fills rocky areas with sea water. Tide pools can be small or large and shallow or deep. In tide pools, you can find plants and animals. The plants and animals found in tide pools have learned to adapt to living in both wet and dry climateswet when the water is covering the tide pool and dry when the tide is low. Here are some tips on how to explore tide pools with kids.

Instructions

1

Go when the tides are low. Check your local newspaper or the tide table or calendar found in surf shops, fishing shops, or online. When looking online, visit tides.info and select your state and city and it will give you the tide levels for the times of day. It is safer and you will see more if you go when the tide is at its lowest, preferably less than 1 foot. Postpone your trip if the weather is stormy or the surf is high.

2

Protect yourself and the kids from the sun. Before leaving your house for the tide pools, be sure to lather yourself and the kids with sunscreen. It is fun to explore the tide pools but no fun to go home with a sunburn. Bring extra sunscreen in case the kids get wet or you stay longer than you initially planned. Also, bring a hat if your little ones have fair skin, to shade their faces from the sun.

3

Bring a change of clothes in case someone falls in a puddle or a wave splashes you or the kids and gets your clothes wet. Also be sure to bring a jacket in case there is a cool breeze. It is better to be comfortable and warm while exploring the tide pools than to be cold and want to go home after a few minutes.

4

Respect the tide pool environment. Follow the general rule of thumb to put things back where you found them. If you pick up a rock and find a sea creature or plant under it, be sure to put the rock back the way you found it and do not remove the animal or plant. If you try to move an animal or plant and it resists being moved, leave it alone. Clinging tightly to the rock is the creatures way of using its body language to let you know it wants to be left alone. If you force a sea creature to move, you could tear off its feet or squeeze its organs.

5

Walk carefully. Wear shoes when walking around the tide pools. You dont want to cut your feet on any sharp rocks or get stung by any animal life you may accidentally step on. Avoid stepping on animals by walking on footholds on the rocks. Keep the kids in your sight at all times. Do not let them wander far from you. Stay close to shore and dont step in the tide pools.

6

Have fun exploring the tide pools. Bring your camera and take pictures of the kids discovering a whole new world of sea life in the tide pools. Try and see how many plants and animals you can identify.