The Manatee Education & Observation Center in Fort Pierce is a pure delight!  This waterfront, environmental education and wildlife viewing center is located  just west of the Atlantic ocean and straddles the nationally recognized Indian River Lagoon, a saltwater estuary, and Moore’s Creek, a freshwater tributary.

Offering a variety of boat tours around Indian Lagoon, we settled on the 90 minute 1:30 departure.  While waiting, we purchased bait from the marina gift shop and enjoyed feeding the variety of fish off the dock. 

We had a lovely time on the cruise and saw 2 dolphins swimming in tandem.  and yes – a manatee!  While it did not get as close to us as we had hoped, we nonetheless saw this adorable creature pop its head out of water a few times.  The captain of our pontoon was very knowledgable and we learned that manatees can weigh up to 1200 lbs!  In addition, we learned that these lovable creatures  are descendants of elephants. 

Once we were inside the Manatee Observation & Education Center,  we explored hands-on exhibits and informational displays that were both fun and educational.