Chicamacomico Life Saving Station is in Rodanthe on N.C. 12. The station is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Donations are accepted. For more information, call 987-1552. The centerpiece is the 285,000-gallon Graveyard of the Atlantic tank, which is home to 28 species among its 1,313 inhabitants.
Visitors also can dip into the many educational programs, workshops and exhibits.
Among the activities for children are touch tanks, water-related games and educational but fun films. The North Carolina Aquarium is on Airport Road, three miles north of Manteo, off US 64. It's the first big holiday week of the season, and lots of folks are ready to take that first dip in the ocean. But to quote Sgt. Changing terrain and variable winds can turn the Atlantic into a swirling, unpredictable mess, often producing rip currents.