Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary welcomes an innovative and inspiring art show at its Eco-Discovery Center March 16-25, the Splash Trash Tour. The show highlights an enormous challenge we all face as we enjoy the beautiful Florida Keys ocean and beaches – trash in our oceans. Splash Trash will engage visitors and provide several opportunities to consider the impacts of trash and the devastating effects on our sea and wildlife, our beaches, our local economies and our human health.

Environmental communicator, Bette Booth, created the Splash Trash Tour to promote dialogue and action about trash in our oceans and what we can do to make a difference. The Tour combines whimsical art made out of beach trash with an interactive, hands-on exhibit fun for all ages, and community presentations.

“The Splash Trash Tour is a wonderful way to reinforce the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center’s mission of education and outreach about the need to preserve and protect the fragile marine environments around the world,” said Craig Wanous, manager of the Eco-Discovery Center.

The Tour will also host the Center’s monthly children’s program, Discovery Saturday, enabling the Center and the Splash Trash Tour to reach the youth of the Keys community with an interactive program about plastic pollution in the ocean. Kids from kindergarten through fifth grade are invited to participate in Discovery Saturday and work with Splash Trash artist, Bette Booth, to create a new art piece – ‘Catch of the Day’.

The Center will also host a presentation by Maria Josefina Olascoaga, an associate professor at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School who studies ocean circulation, harmful algal blooms, and oil spills. Olascoaga will give an informal presentation on her latest research about the connection between ocean currents and ocean garbage patches.

What: Splash Trash Tour
Where: Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center 35 East Quay Road Key West, FL 33040
When: March 16–18 and 22–24: 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., March 25 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Who: Any interested parties

What: Discovery Saturday: ‘Catch of the Day’
Where: Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center 35 East Quay Road Key West, FL 33040
When: March 18, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Who: Children in Kindergarten – grade 5

What: Science Presentation: Ocean Currents and Ocean Garbage Patches
Where: Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center 35 East Quay Road Key West, FL 33040
When: March 18, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Who: Any interested parties

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary protects 2,900 square nautical miles of critical marine habitat, including coral reef, hard bottom, sea grass meadows, mangrove communities and sand flats, as well as shipwrecks and maritime heritage resources. NOAA and the state of Florida manage the sanctuary. Visit us at http://floridakeys.noaa.gov or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/floridakeysnoaagov.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join NOAA on Facebook, Twitter and other social media channels.