The Wetlands Institute

The Wetlands Institute, located in the lush and beautiful wetlands of Stone Harbor, offers year-round fun and education to all of its visitors. The institute is open all winter for self-guided tours of its facilities. In the summer, the Wetlands offers complete guided tours, back bay boat rides, kayaking, live animal shows, family entertainment and guided beach and dune walks. Visitors can also conclude their visit at the Tidepool Museum Shop with its unique nature books, gifts, prints and crafts.

A visit to the Wetlands takes visitors on a journey through Marion’s gardens, including hundreds of native plants, each chosen to attract birds and butterflies and to resemble an historic English cottage garden.

Marshview Hall offers a beautiful view of the surrounding marsh where visitors can enjoy wildlife art and carvings. The hall features several hand-carved wooden bird mobiles and original hand-sewn quilts. Marshview Hall if also available for rent for private functions.

The Diller Building houses the extraordinary aquarium featuring more than a dozen exhibits with live marsh animals and a special “teacher’s tank” with live horseshoe crabs and sea stars. The attraction also offers hands-on exhibits for kids and adults to understand the importance of the wetlands.

Terrapin Station offers visitors a chance to learn more about the project through informational exhibits. The exhibit focuses on the life of native turtles and the rarity of the diamondback terrapin. The trails offer a view of animals such as migratory birds and fiddler crabs. The conclusion of the tour allows visitors to observe one of the world’s largest colonies of laughing gulls.

The Observation Tower sits forty feet above the building to provide a view of the surrounding wetlands area. The tower is a relaxing spot to take in the beauty of the wetlands and appreciate the surroundings.

The Wetlands Institute hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30am to 4:30pm during the winter (October 16th through May 14th). The Wetlands is closed Sunday and Monday. Summer hours are Monday to Saturday, 9:30am to 4:30pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm (October 16th through May 14th).

The Institute also offers field trips tailored to a variety of different school groups. They also offer electronic field trips to those school systems that have compatible technology with the ISDN line Videoconferencing PictureTel SwiftSites.

Electronic Field Trips allow teachers and students to speak directly with Institute scientists about conservation issues concerning the coastal habitats of New Jersey. The Wetlands Institute is located on 1075 Stone Harbor Blvd. in Stone Harbor. For more information, call (609) 368-1211 or visit their website at www.wetlandsinstitute.org.

For an extensive list of South Jersey Attractions, with links to websites and other information, check out our Attractions page.

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: Melissa Samuelson