DolphinCamp and DolphinLab Spots Still Open!

Whether you’re thinking about a career with marine mammals, or you simply love dolphins and want to learn more about them while having fun, you’re an excellent candidate for DolphinLab.

Here’s what a few of our previous students, parents and teachers said about their experience . . .

“I was blown away by this program. I learned more than I thought possible and am so excited to come back and learn even more.”
"DolphinLab far exceeded my expectations both for enjoyment factor and learning/education. I've learned more in one week than one year at college."
“The lab reinforced my current career goals, but also opened my eyes to a whole slew of different careers having to do with dolphins.”
“…another great week of DolphinLab for my daughter….I believe DRC has helped her decide that working to save the environment and wildlife is what she wants to devote her life to.”

“I have had the pleasure of bringing my students to…DolphinLab since 1986. The quality of the…experience has been outstanding on all occasions.”

There are still spots available in all of our Dolphin Camp courses for ages 10-12 or 13-14. For adults ages 18 and older, we have courses open in All About Dolphins as well as the Career Focused Series classes.

Remember, you can now earn college credit for all of our adult courses!

For students ages 15-17, unfortunately our Teen Basic Courses are already full, so please plan ahead for next year! If you’ve previously taken Teen Basic, and would like to return for the Intermediate or Advanced Teen Course, openings are still available.

Click here to go to the DolphinLab area of our website for more information or email the Education Department at education@dolphins.org.

Game On!

Merina was ready to join in for some ring-toss fun!

What’s a holiday weekend without some good outdoor games? On Memorial Day, the group of dolphins in the front lagoon, led by Santini, engaged in a game of ring toss with Merina, Pandora and Cayo who are living in the lagoons next door. While trainers watched, someone in the front flung a toy ring across the fence. One of the girls in the next lagoon grabbed the toy and tossed it back. Then someone else from the front retrieved and threw it again. The game went on for quite awhile. Both teams were declared winners!

If you aren't familiar with the dolphins of DRC, click here to Meet the Pod!

Adorable Meet

Emily, one of our research trainers, recently had a number of young children join her, Tanner and AJ for a Meet the Dolphin program. One three year old girl was too scared to do the flippershake. After the other children did the behavior, Emily talked more to the little girl and the conversation was precious.

“I’ve known these guys for awhile,” Emily said. “They’re really cool.”

“You know ‘dem?” the youngster asked?

Emily nodded. The girl’s mother really wanted her to do the behavior and offered to sit with her on the edge of the dock while she met the dolphins.

“No, Mommy. You don’t know dem,” the little girl said, and then pointed at Emily. “She knows dem.”

Braver now that she was with a real friend of Tanner and AJ’s, the child sat with Emily and shook flippers with our handsome, gentle guys.

Splashing into the Blogosphere!

Welcome to Dolphin Research Center's new web journal. This is an exciting new venture for us and we hope that it will be exciting for you, too.

Now celebrating our 24th year, Dolphin Research Center is a nonprofit marine mammal education and research facility, located in the heart of the Florida Keys. Twenty Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (including three adorable one-year-olds) and a California sea lion call DRC home. Our mission is to promote peaceful coexistence, cooperation and communication between marine mammals, humans and the environment we share through research and education and to operate for the advancement of research and education. The health and well being of DRC’s dolphins holds absolute precedence over all other interests. DRC will undertake no program or activity that compromises this basic commitment.

In future blogs, we'll share stories from around our lagoons about the wonderful animals in the family pod, our various activities, and some of the amazing and fun things that happen when people just like you come and visit. Animal care and training, cognitive and behavioral research, special needs programs, educational activities and more will all be part of the blog. We hope you'll enjoy reading. In the meantime, to learn more about DRC and the dolphins and sea lions, please visit our website www.dolphins.org!