Discover Summer: Beneath the Surface
By: Nc Department Of Natural, Cultural Resources
Tags: North Carolina, Surfing, Nature, Oceans

Discover Summer: Beneath the Surface

From mountain rivers to coastal reefs, you’re never far from a body of water in North Carolina. This week we are learning about the peoples, places, and critters connected to North Carolina’s aquatic history. During this week of our Discover Summer Challenge, we’re sharing challenges you can dive into to learn about North Carolina’s coastal and aquatic history!

Here are seven things you can do to dive beneath the surface of North Carolina's vast aquatic history and culture.

Image and activity via Buggyandbuddy.com

Make a Tide Pool. This is an easy activity from Buggyandbuddy.com where people of all ages can explore what happens in high and low tide. Reconstruct your favorite North Carolina beach or use your creativity to build something from your own imagination. This guide will walk you through building your own tide pool sensory box. Don’t forget to share your creations with us on social media using #DiscoverSummerNC. Get started here!

Discover A Sea Turtle’s Perspective of Coastal NC. The North Carolina Maritime Museum at Southport collaborated with the Bald Head Island Conservancy to educate their audiences on the life cycle of sea turtles. North Carolina’s oceans are home to five of the seven types of sea turtles in the world. BHI Conservancy works hard to protect our shelled friends. Watch this video to see North Carolina’s beaches from a turtle hatchling’s perspective and learn all of the simple steps you can take to help them! Watch here!

Spend the day at your nearest beach or lake. From Lake Norman to Wrightsville Beach, there are so many places to sit back and enjoy the water. We suggest fishing at Janette’s Pier, surfing in southeastern NC, or canoeing at Falls Lake State Park!

Cold Stunned Turtles via North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

Learn about Sea Turtle Preservation in North Carolina. North Carolina’s oceans are home to five of the seven species of turtle in the world. It is our responsibility to maintain our beaches to protect the world’s turtle population. The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and Bald Head Island Conservancy do great work. They recently partnered to rehabilitate and release cold-stunned turtles back into the oceans. Read about it and then watch the video here!

Image via North Carolina Maritime Museum at Beaufort

Discover North Carolina’s Surfing history. Did you know that recreational surfing in North Carolina has been around since the first decade of the twentieth century? The North Carolina Maritime Museum at Beaufort’s previous Exhibit Revealed North Carolina’s Surfing Legacy delved into the rich history of surfing in North Carolina. Though you cannot visit the exhibit or the museum currently, the Maritime Museum has a lot of great information available online.

NC Maritime Museum at Southport

Explore Maritime Museums online. The North Carolina Maritime Museum at Southport celebrated National Maritime Day virtually with a playlist exploring coastal history on their youtube channel. From the history of coastal women to the Battleship North Carolina, there is so much to discover. Start watching now!

Make cardboard surfboards. Katie from the North Carolina Maritime Museum at Southport goes live on Facebook with crafts every week. This week, they made surfboards out of paper towel and toilet paper tubes! Grab some scissors, tape, and used tubes, and head over to their video to get started!