OATLAND ISLAND WILDLIFE CENTER IN SAVANNAH IS REOPENING

Oatland Island Wildlife Center will reopen to members only on Thurs. Sept. 10 2020. Hours will be 10AM-4PM everyday.
Oatland Island Wildlife Center will reopen to the general public on Mon. Sept. 14 2020.

BECOME A MEMBER ONLINE HERE. 
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​IMPORTANT INFO YOU NEED TO PLAN YOUR VISIT:
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Pre-registration is REQUIRED with timed entry windows. Pre-register online here. 
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MEMBERS – check your email to find the promo code for free tickets with your current membership. Be prepared to show membership card on arrival. If you’re a member and didn’t receive the email, contact Oatland.
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The main building will be closed with the exception of the gift shop which will be open for cold drinks, snacks, bug spray, and souvenirs. Masks and temperature checks will be required to enter the gift shop.
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Restrooms will be available in the GA Barnyard area.

Remember to  practice physical distancing and stay an alligator apart.

Learn more here. 

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Oatland Island Wildlife Center in Savannah is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser 
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Take a walk on the wild side with Oatland Island Wildlife Center’s new animal face masks.

Available in both child and adults sizes for $10 each. Choose from cougar, barred owl, gray wolf, and opossum.
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​Order online here.

Proceeds from Gift Shop sales support Friends of Oatland Island Wildlife Center’s mission to assist Oatland Island Wildlife Center in the day to day needs of animal care, preservation of the ecosystem, continuation of education programs and maintenance of the animal enclosures and grounds as a community asset.

Friends of Oatland Island Wildlife Center is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser

Are you ready to GO BANANAS??🍌🍌🍌

Now’s your chance to get tickets to The Savannah Bananas game AND support Friends of Oatland FOO, the nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the staff and animals of Oatland Island Wildlife Center in Savannah.

FOO Night at Grayson Stadium in Savannah is Tues. July 28 2020 and tickets are on sale NOW.

Let’s fill the stadium with FOO Fans and animal lovers – get your tickets 🎟before they sell out.

Attendance for all Bananas games are limited to half capacity for the season so this might be your best (or only!) chance to get tickets.

GO BANANAS WITH FOO. Order tickets online here. 

Oatland Island Wildlife Center is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser 

Add this to your list of online learning for kids during the COVID-19 school closures: FOOVENTURES – which connects kids online with the animals of Oatland Island Wildlife Center via Facebook Live!

This FREE online kids’ nature virtual program will be live at 11AM on weekdays via the Friends of Oatland Island Facebook page here. 

FREE & open to kids of all ages.

Oatland Island Wildlife Center is closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oatland Island Wildlife Center is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser 

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Find more of our new free online things to do at home here. 

The Savannah National Wildlife Refuge hosts a preschoolers “Young Explorers Club” on the first Tuesday of each month.

The free, hour-long monthly program for 3-4 year-olds starts at 10AM on the first Tuesday of each month.  There will be story time, crafts, snacks, and take-home activities all about this month’s topic.

The programs are at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center (694 Beech Hill Lane Hardeeville, SC 29927).

Each month, a different animal or method of conservation will be highlighted. Juniors of Girl Scout Troop 30387 have designed the monthly programs as their service project for completing the Bronze Award. The themes are:

February – Lady Bugs
March – Plants
April – Recycle
May – Baby Birds
June – Alligators
July – Sea Turtles
August – Spiders
September – Fish
October – Butterflies
November – Turkeys
December – Ducks

For more information, please contact Joel Vos at (843) 784-2468.

Learn more here.

National Wildlife Refuge in Savannah/Hardeeville.
Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex
694 Beech Hill Ln
Hardeeville, South Carolina 29927

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FOR MORE FREE FAMILY EVENTS, CLICK HERE. 

UPDATE: THIS CAMP IS NOW CANCELLED FOR SUMMER 2020. Details here. 

Summer Camp 2020 Applications for Oatland Island Summer Camp in Savannah are available here.

Weekly summer camps will be offered June 1-July 17 2020, Monday-Friday 9AM-3PM. Earliest drop-off is 8:30AM. (Extended care offered 3-5PM). For rising kindergarteners through rising 8th graders,

Cost: $145 for each week of camp.

Find the weekly camp programs here.

Questions? Contact Summer Camp Coordinator Pam Hewatt at (912) 395-1513 or via email pam.hewatt@sccpss.com

Oatland Island Wildlife Center
711 Sandtown Rd.
Savannah, GA 31410

Oatland Island Wildlife Center in Savannah is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser 

Come to the Fairy & Gnome Festival 2020 @ Oatland Island Wildlife Center in Savannah for a day of enchantment, Sat. April 25, 2020, 10AM-2PM

This family-themed festival is all about the “wee folk” getting up close with the natural world and encouraging imaginative play. Dress in costume and flaunt your wings in our fashion show; mine for magic gems; frolic in the enchanted forest for a fairy surprise; construct a fairy village; enjoy games and crafts inspired by the natural world.

Bring the whole family and stroll through Oatland’s magical trails and maybe you will catch a glimpse of a fairy or gnome looking for a place to call home. Additional fees may apply. All proceeds go to feeding our magical animal kingdom.

Cost: regular admission to Oatland Island Wildlife Center as well as some extra fundraising activities during the event. Find admission costs here.

Fairy & Gnome Festival 2020
Oatland Island Wildlife Center
711 Sandown Rd.
Savannah, 31410
(912) 395-1500

Super Museum Sunday 2020

FREE admission to museums, historic sites on Super Museum Sunday, Feb. 9 2020

Georgia History Festival’s Super Museum Sunday 2020 is Sun. Feb. 9 when various museums and historical sites in the Savannah area are free and open to the public.

See the list of participating Super Museum Sunday Sites here.  

Various sites will have free admission Feb. 10 2019 from noon – 4PM, unless alternate hours are listed.

Highlights of this year’s special event programming include:

• Oatland Island Wildlife Center will open at 10AM so you can get a head start on the day.
• Georgia State Railroad Museum will have site tours, special office car tours & a short train ride.
• Fort King George Historic Site will have musket firing demonstrations from 10AM-4PM

Telfair Museums’ three sites – The Jepson Center, Telfair Academy & Owens-Thomas House, will be open & free noon-4PM.
The Jepson Center,  207 W. York St. Savannah 31401
Telfair Academy, 121 Barnard St. Savannah, 31401
Owens-Thomas House, 124 Abercorn St. Savannah, 31401

All Coastal Heritage Society sites – Savannah Children’s Museum, Georgia State Railroad Museum, Fort Jackson, Savannah History Museum – will be open & free.

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FREE Colonial Faire and Muster 2020

Saturday & Sunday, 10AM- 4PM Feb 8 & Feb. 9 2020
Wormsloe Historic Site, 7601 Skidaway Rd, Savannah  31406.
Experience life in Colonial Georgia during the 18th century with a military encampment, sutler’s row, craft demonstrations, military demonstrations, and period music and dance. Food concessions will be available. Free. 912-353-3023. Details here. 

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FREE Georgia Day Parade 2020, Savannah

Educators & students in grades K-12 are invited to participate in the Georgia Day Parade on Fri. Feb. 21, 2020. As part of the annual commemoration of the founding of the Georgia colony by James Edward Oglethorpe, a tradition dating back to the earliest years of the colony’s founding, students, local dignitaries, musicians, & costumed performers will march through Savannah’s historic squares. Registration is now open.

Registration details here. 

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FOR MORE FREE SAVANNAH AREA KIDS’ EVENTS, CLICK HERE. 

From the sheep’s body to the finished wool product!

Observe and participate in the magical creation of a woolen shawl through all the stages of wool processing.

Members of The Fiber Guild of the Savannah’s join Oatland staff and volunteers in making this traditional Savannah spring celebration fun for the whole family.

The annual Sheep to Shawl Festival will be 10AM-2PM Sat. March 7 2020 @ Oatland Island Wildlife Center, Savannah.

The Oatland sheep will be sheared throughout the day with demonstrations of carding, spinning, dying and weaving the wool. Crafts, games, hay rides and other children’s activities as well as food concessions will be available.

Admission
$5 Adult, $3 Children

Sheep to Shawl 2020
Sat. March 7, 2020
10AM-2PM
Oatland Island Wildlife Center
711 Sandtown Rd.
Savannah, GA 31410

Family Birding
10AM-Noon Sat. Jan. 18 2020
Cost: $15

Celebrate Georgia’s diverse agricultural traditions during Oatland Island Wildlife Center’s annual cane grinding event on Sat. Nov. 16 2019 in Savannah, 10AM-4PM. Details here. 

Centered around Oatland’s 1800’s Heritage Homesite, history comes alive with old-time music, cane-boiling, butter-making and cooking on the hearth and open fire. See how “it was back then” amidst the sights, sounds and aroma of an old-fashioned fall gathering.​

Children young and old will enjoy hay rides, crafts and games, cane syrup and other fun festival food that will tug at your senses as you venture back through history.​

Special Admission Rates for this event​:
Children $5
Adults $7

Learn more here. 

Oatland Island Wildlife Center Wildlife, 711 Sandtown Rd. Savannah, GA, 31410 (912) 395-1212 Driving directions here.

Lots of kids & family happenings @ UGA Marine Education Center And Aquarium on Skidaway Is. in Savannah during Summer 2019 including:

Turtle Tuesdays
Every Tuesday in July, 2-3PM
Meet a new turtle that’s native to the Georgia coast each Tuesday in June at the UGA Aquarium! Turtle talks begin at 2 p.m. and include a feeding at the aquarium’s freshwater turtle pond as well as an opportunity to interact with one of the aquarium’s ambassador turtles. The turtle talks are included in general admission to the UGA Aquarium, paid by cash or check. Learn more here. 

Toddler Touch Tanks
Every Thursday in July, 10-11AM
Explore the coast with your child in a unique setting perfect for inspiring wonder and curiosity! Toddler Touch Tank programs are specifically designed with our youngest visitors in mind. They include a mix of games, art, stories and animal encounters that provide fun learning experiences about the ocean. Pre-registration is encouraged to guarantee your spot. Register online here. 

Behind the Scenes Aquarium Tours
Every Thursday in July, 2-3PM
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at the UGA Aquarium? Spend the afternoon exploring our exhibits before learning what it’s like to care for native marine life during a behind-the-scenes tour led by marine educators. Pre-registration is encouraged to guarantee your spot. Register online here

Family Field Trip: Marsh Mucking
July 9 & July 30
Register online here. 

Crabbing 101
July 13 10AM-Noon.
Register online here. 

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UGA Marine Education Center And Aquarium on Skidaway Is.
30 Ocean Science Circle
Savannah, GA 31411

From the sheep’s body to the finished wool product @ Sheep to Shawl Festival 2019 @ Oatland Is. Wildlife Center in Savannah.

Observe and participate in the magical creation of a woolen shawl through all the stages of wool processing at this annual fundraiser for Oatland Island Wildlife Center.

Members of The Fiber Guild of the Savannahs join Oatland staff and volunteers in making this traditional spring celebration fun for the whole family. the Oatland sheep will be sheared throughout the day with crafts, games, hay rides, and much more!

Sheep to Shawl Festival
Sat. March 9, 2019
10AM-4PM
Admission: Adults: $5
Children, Seniors, Military: $3

Details here.

Come to the Fairy & Gnome Festival 2019 @ Oatland Island Wildlife Center in Savannah for a day of enchantment, Sat. May 4, 2019, 10AM-2PM

This family-themed festival is all about the “wee folk” getting up close with the natural world and encouraging imaginative play. Dress in costume and flaunt your wings in our fashion show; mine for magic gems; frolic in the enchanted forest for a fairy surprise; construct a fairy village; enjoy games and crafts inspired by the natural world.

Bring the whole family and stroll through Oatland’s magical trails and maybe you will catch a glimpse of a fairy or gnome looking for a place to call home. Additional fees may apply. All proceeds go to feeding our magical animal kingdom.

Cost: regular admission to Oatland Island Wildlife Center as well as some extra fundraising activities during the event. Find admission costs here.

Fairy & Gnome Festival 2019
Oatland Island Wildlife Center
711 Sandown Rd.
Savannah, 31410
(912) 395-1500

Oatland Island Wildlife Center in Savannah reopened in late December 2018 after being closed for months due to damage sustained from a summer 2018 tornado.

To celebrate, Oatland will have a special Grand Reopening Celebration on Sat. Jan. 12 2019, 10AM-2PM. Admission is FREE. (Donations appreciated).

Enjoy food trucks, live music, open fire cooking, live animal encounters, a 1PM cake cutting & cabin tours. Learn more here.

Oatland’s Toddler Tuesdays nature programs is also back. Find the Toddler Tuesday winter 2019 schedule here. 

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Oatland Island Wildlife Center Wildlife, 711 Sandtown Rd. Savannah, GA, 31410 (912) 395-1212 Driving directions here.

Toddlers Tuesdays are back for 2020 @ Oatland Island Wildlife Center in Savannah.

The popular Savannah nature program for kids will offer a choice of 2 times, until they get rolling again: 10-10:45AM; and 11-11:45AM.

It is the same program each time, just pick the time that is more convenient to you.

Cost of the program: $5 per child that is participating and regular admission for the rest of your party. This is a special fundraising program, so even if you are members the cost is $5 per child.

Pre-registration is required! Space is limited to 15 students per session. Registration closes on Tuesday at 7:30AM. Please cancel if you know you won’t make it to open spaces for other children. Click on link below to register.

Problems with registration contact Ms. Michelle at michelle.kelly@sccpss.com or 912-395-1517.

Toddler Tuesday is a program designed to introduce our youngest learners to the wonders of the natural world. Children and their adults will experience nature through themed activities including songs, finger play, story time, nature walks, live animal encounters and crafts. Your child will commune with nature in a safe, playful and experiential way in Toddler Tuesday classes.

Click on link below to register for these 2020 Toddler Tuesdays.

March 24–A Vulture’s View

March 31–Frog on a Log in a Bog

April 7–3..2..1..Blast Off 

 April 14–National Dolphin Day!

Oatland Island Wildlife Center
Wildlife and education programs
711 Sandtown Rd.
Savannah, GA, 31410
(912) 395-1212

Admission rates here.  

Oatland Island Wildlife Center Wildlife, 711 Sandtown Rd. Savannah, GA, 31410 (912) 395-1212 Driving directions here.

One of our favorite Savannah kids’ Halloween events –  the Halloween Hike @ Oatland Island Wildlife Center , is scheduled for Fri & Sat. Oct. 19 & 20 2018.

If you’ve never taken your little trick-or-treaters to this non-scary Halloween event, make sure this is the year you do so!

Halloween Hike
Oct. 19 & 20, 2018
5PM-8PM (last hike leaves at 8PM)

CASH ONLY

Adults: $5
Children: $10

This is a fun, safe, not-so-scary fundraiser for your little trick or treaters! Walk with your trickster down our friendly forest trail to meet and gather goodies from our friendly animal characters. Let Mother Earth show you the way and sit with Mother Goose as she tells her favorite rhymes. There will be face painting, spooky crafts, and many more activities. Comfortable walking shoes and costumes are encouraged.

Concessions will be available before or after the hike.

Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Oatland Island Wildlife Center Wildlife, 711 Sandtown Rd. Savannah, GA, 31410 (912) 395-1212 Driving directions here.

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FOR MORE FALL FESTIVALS 2018, VISIT THE SOUTHERNMAMAS.COM FALL FUN GUIDE. 

You are invited to a Sea Turtle Release this Fri. June 15 @ Great Dunes Beach on Jekyll Is., which is about a 90 minute drive on I-95 from Savannah.

Join the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Is. as they release some of their rehabilitated patients back to the ocean.

The release happens at 2PM Fri. June 15.

Please arrive early, as the release will start promptly at 2 p.m. Remember to bring your hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, water, and a friend.

This event is free & open to their public. There is a required $6 Daily Parking Fee to enter Jekyll Is.

Learn more about the Georgia Sea Turtle Center including visiting hours & daily kid-friendly programs here. 

Read our Things To Do With Kids on Jekyll Island list here.

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Georgia Sea Turtle Center

Visit the state’s only rescue & rehabilitation facility to learn about the endangered sea turtles that visit our coast. Meet some of the turtle patients in the center’s hospital & learn their stories that brought them there.

During the nesting months of summer (June and July), the center leads nightly turtle walks.  After the turtles hatch in August, the center offers hatchling walks at dawn.

www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org or (912) 635-4444

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Find more kid-friendly daytrips from Savannah here. 

Free for moms on Mother’s Day 2018 in Savannah 

On Sunday, May 13 2018, admission to all Coastal Heritage Society sites in Savannah are FREE for mothers and grandmothers in honor of Mother’s Day! That includes:
*Savannah Children’s Museum. See schedule of daily here. 
*Georgia State Railroad Museum
*Old Fort Jackson
*Pinpoint Heritage Museum

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FREE for moms on Sat. May 12 
Free bring your mom to workout day @ Crossfit Hyperformance in Savannah, 10:15AM. Details here.

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Free for moms on Mother’s Day Weekend in Jacksonville 

Celebrate MOM with free admission to Jacksonville Zoo on Mother’s Day Weekend 2018.
Mom gets in free with the purchase of any adult or child’s ticket with the coupon.

Click here for more info.

Jacksonville Zoo & Garden, 370 Zoo Parkway Jacksonville, Fla 32218, (904) 757-4463 www.jacksonvillezoo.org

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Free monthly Young Explorers Club 

The Savannah National Wildlife Refuge hosts a preschoolers “Young Explorers Club” on the first Tuesday of each month.

The free, hour-long monthly program for 3-4 year-olds starts at 10AM on the first Tuesday of each month.  There will be story time, crafts, snacks, and take-home activities all about this month’s topic.

The programs are at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center (694 Beech Hill Lane Hardeeville, SC 29927).

Each month, a different animal or method of conservation will be highlighted. Juniors of Girl Scout Troop 30387 have designed the monthly programs as their service project for completing the Bronze Award. The themes are:

April – Recycle
May – Baby Birds
June – Alligators
July – Sea Turtles
August – Spiders
September – Fish
October – Butterflies
November – Turkeys
December – Ducks

For more information, please contact Joel Vos at (843) 784-2468.

Learn more here.

National Wildlife Refuge in Savannah/Hardeeville.
694 Beech Hill Ln
Hardeeville, South Carolina 29927

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Come to Oatland Island Wildlife Center in Savannah for the 2017 Harvest Festival & Cane Grinding Sat. Nov. 18 to celebrate Georgia’s diverse agricultural traditions during this annual fundraising event.

Centered around our 1800’s Heritage Homesite, history comes alive at this old-fashioned fall gathering.  The sights, sounds & aromas will tug at your senses as you enjoy music, storytelling, children’s games & talent show, traditional crafts, demos & more.

Oatland staff will be grinding sugar cane and making cane syrup as well as cooking copper kettle apple butter & a variety of open fire & hearth recipes to sample.

Admission: $7 for adults; $5 for children.
10AM-4PM Sat. Nov. 18 2017 @ Oatland Island Wildlife Center, Savannah

For more info, call 912-395-1517.

One of our favorite Savannah kids’ Halloween events –  the Halloween Hike @ Oatland Island Wildlife Center , will be Oct. 20 & 21 2017.

If you’ve never taken your little trick-or-treaters to this non-scary Halloween event, make sure this is the year you do so!

Halloween Hike
Oct. 20 & 21, 2017
5PM-8PM (last hike leaves at 8PM)

CASH ONLY

Adults: $5
Children: $10

This is a fun, safe, not-so-scary fundraiser for your little trick or treaters! Walk with your trickster down our friendly forest trail to meet and gather goodies from our friendly animal characters. Let Mother Earth show you the way and sit with Mother Goose as she tells her favorite rhymes. There will be face painting, spooky crafts, and many more activities. Comfortable walking shoes and costumes are encouraged.

Concessions will be available before or after the hike.

Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Oatland Island Wildlife Center Wildlife, 711 Sandtown Rd. Savannah, GA, 31410 (912) 395-1212 Driving directions here.

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FOR MORE FALL FESTIVALS 2017, VISIT THE SOUTHERNMAMAS.COM FALL FUN GUIDE HERE. 

Hallowmarine Hike @ UGA Marine Education Center & Aquarium, Skidaway Is., Savannah
Wed. Oct. 25 @ 7-8PM
Get into the spirit of Halloween by taking part in an interpretive night hike on the Jay Wolf Nature Trail at the UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium. Staff will lead participants down the trail while listening for owls, insects, frogs, and other night noises. Participants may even spot deer or bats during the hike. This program is open to all ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Time: 7-8 p.m.
Cost: $10

Reservations and payment required one week prior to these events. For more information or to register, please call the public programs coordinator at 912-598-3345 or email kayla270@uga.edu.

Celebrate MOM with free admission to Jacksonville Zoo on Mother’s Day, May 14 2017.

Mom gets in free with the purchase of any adult or child’s ticket with the coupon.

Click here for the Mother’s Day Coupon!

Jacksonville Zoo & Garden, 370 Zoo Parkway Jacksonville, Fla 32218, (904) 757-4463 www.jacksonvillezoo.org