Optional Activities
Details regarding the optional shark tagging excursion and wild dolphin viewing & shelling tour are now available.
To participate, please respond by: Friday, January 31, 2025.
To respond, send an email to Christa with the following information:
Number of spaces you would like to reserve for your family
Full names and ages of all participants
Once you respond with the requested information, you will be provided with an invoice for the associated cost so that you can submit your payment online. Payment deadlines are included below. For students who have been awarded either the PEP or FES-UA scholarship, both of these events may be purchased using direct pay via the SUFS EMA system. In your email response, please indicate that you are electing this option and information will be provided to you on how to request these services using EMA.
Shark Tagging Excursion
Monday, April 28, 2025; 7:15 AM - 4:30 PM
@Nova Southeastern University, Oceanographic Center, Dania Beach
Students will have the opportunity to participate in a full-day shark tagging expedition in partnership with Nova Southeastern University and the Guy Harvey Research Institute. This excursion is truly a "hands-on" experience. Students will have the opportunity to participate in activities such as prepping the rigging, setting the lines, reeling in the sharks, and even placing the tag onto the shark. Guy Harvey Research members will teach you how to do each task, and you can choose which tasks you would prefer. You will have opportunities to see, touch, and work with the sharks up close.
This excursion is open to registered students and their family members. The boat can accommodate a maximum of thirty (30) people. Priority is provided to registered students. The remaining spaces are awarded once interest level is determined. If spaces remain after all students and their families have submitted payment, the additional spaces will be offered on a first come, first served basis to anyone interested so that we can fill the boat and avoid having to increase the per person cost.
All participants must be 8 years of age or older.
Cost: $200 per person
Response Deadline: Friday, January 31, 2025
Payment Deadline: Friday, February 28, 2025
If payment is not received by the payment deadline, your spaces will be offered to the next interested party.
Wild Dolphin Viewing & Shelling Tour
Monday, May 12, 2025; 2 - 6 PM
@Treasure Seekers Shell Tours, Goodland, Marco Island
Students will enjoy a 4-hour boat ride and shelling tour with Treasure Seekers Shell Tours in the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge. While it is well-known for its incredible shelling, this area is also home to a pod of resident dolphins and a variety of other marine life including manatees, sea turtles and spotted eagle rays. Students will complete an assessment of dolphin behavior during the boat ride and then search for seashells along the remote coastlines of nearby islands. Students may keep any empty shells they find.
This excursion is open to registered students and their family members. The tour can accommodate a maximum of eighteen (18) people with six people on each boat. Priority is provided to registered students. The remaining spaces are awarded once interest level is determined. If spaces remain after all students and their families have submitted payment, the additional spaces will be offered on a first come, first served basis to anyone interested so that we can fill the boats and avoid having to increase the per person cost.
Cost: $180 per person
Response Deadline: Friday, January 31, 2025
Payment Deadline: Monday, March 31, 2025
If payment is not received by the payment deadline, your spaces will be offered to the next interested party.
