Dolphin Tale Opens in the UK to Great Reviews

Winter the dolphin danced in delight while her trainer looked on approvingly in the marine aquarium at Clearwater, Florida. Made from plastic and silicone, the artificial tail was specially designed for the little bottlenose dolphin after she lost her own in a crab trap.

(Please see video of Winter at bottom of post.)

Winter with her Prosthetic Tail

The inspiring story of how Winter defied death and turned tragedy into triumph by learning to swim normally again is told in the 3D film Dolphin Tale, released in the UK this past weekend.

The Warner Bros blockbuster was shot over three months at Clearwater with a cast led by Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr and Kris Kristofferson.


Not surprisingly, tourists are flocking to the aquarium to see the dolphin diva with her magical "inbuilt" smile, white flashing teeth and, of course, that 30-inch prosthetic tale.

Winter's courage has inspired Americans everywhere. One war veteran who lost an arm and leg turned his life around after meeting Winter, declaring: "If that damned dolphin can do it, I can do it."

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium can be found on Island Way, Clearwater.  It is undergoing a huge expansion at the moment.  The facility will be able to care for many more sick and/or wounded marine animals than previously.

The facility will also provide stadium seating for demonstrations by the resident dolphins, including Winter and the recently rescued, eight month old orphaned bottlenose dolphin, Hope.

And Speaking of Mermaids..

Isn't she a beauty?  My husband and I came across her on our early morning walk today.  
This mermaid is special.  She was sculpted from the finest white sand Clearwater Beach has to offer. 

Then her beautiful tail was formed by tiny chards of broken shells.  They gleamed in the morning sunlight.  Around her slim waist was a circlet of the finest shells, pink, tan and white. All perfect. 
None broken. 

The mermaid's hair, was made of seaweed, long and thickly applied.  It spilled onto the sugar sand exactly as hair does, still wet from the sea. 

We wondered what artist created her?  Or did a storm deposit a flesh and blood mermaid on the warm sand, and there she turned into sand itself?  Whatever the answer, she is a magical mermaid.  I hope you think so, too.

And What a Book Nook it Was!

Wow.  What a day it was at Book Nook by the Bay.  Lots of kids, lots of music, lots of sunshine! 

Book Nook at The Pier (St. Petersburg, Florida)

I want to thank Emily Stehle of The Pier Aquarium.  It was a marvelous day, a perfect Saturday. Everyone was out enjoying sea and sun. 

Many thanks to those who bought copies of One Pelican at a Time:  A Story of the Gulf Oil Spill.   It is gratifying to see the interest in Pelican, Britt and Bella.  The book, in hard cover and soft cover, may be purchased in the gift shop at the Aquarium.

Emily has agreed to do a guest post on this blog, so watch for it in the next weeks.  She will tell what exciting things are ahead for the aquarium and its new location at John's Pass, Madeira Beach.

Thanks again, St. Petersburg!

Clearwater Beach--A Promise to World Ocean Day

My family and I are spending two weeks  at our home on Clearwater Beach, Florida.  It is paradise with with problems.  Problems that are mounting because of human intervention.

Clearwater Beach, Florida

Those of us who call this piece of paradise home, worry about trash on the beach.  We are concerned about the amount of litter, particularly clear plastic bags at the water's edge, ready for the tide to take them into the gulf.  There, sea turtles think they are jelly fish, eat them and die. 

We are concerned for the manatees that shelter in our bay to have and raise their young.  Too many people in too many boats go too fast, and many manatees are wounded or killed by propellers of boats.

We residents worry about the dolphins, pelicans and other seabirds trying to live and survive in a hostile environment of our making.  What can reasonable people do? 

As an educator, I am convinced that education is the answer.  Children, and sometimes their parents, need to be enlightened about the danger and damage such thoughtless actions cause.  In fact, the theme this year of World Oceans Day is:  Youth:  the Next Wave for Change.

We must share this planet and have to be respectful of all life.  As we get close to Oceans Day , let us not only give thought but action to helping preserve the oceans and all that call it home.

Clearwater Beach, Florida at Sunset

Book Nook by the Bay--One Pelican at a Time Reading & Signing in Aid of World Oceans Day!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JUNE 4 BOOK NOOK CELEBRATES OCEANS DAY
Guests include Author Nancy Stewart and freeFall Theatre Company

St. Peterburg, FL (May 18, 2011) – One Pelican at a Time: A Story of the Gulf Oil Spill written by part-time Clearwater Beach resident Nancy Stewart will help The Pier Aquarium observe World Oceans Day at the June 4 Book Nook by the Bay.

The book, published by Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. in February, has been on Amazon's Bestseller List for Children’s Books for ten weeks and has been nominated for a Global eBook Award. It is the first book for children written about the aftermath of the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

One Pelican at a Time is a story of two children, Bella and Britt, who love living by the beach. They find oil washing to shore from a gulf spill and want to help but don't know what to do. When a "friend," the old crooked beak pelican shows up covered in oil, the girls get help from the bird sanctuary.

The pelican is saved, and the girls learn how they can help save the gulf...one pelican at a time.

Ms. Stewart, a former elementary school teacher and university professor of education, is a full-time writer of children's books. Two other Bella books, Bella Saves the Beach and Sea Turtle Summer are also published by Guardian Angel Publishing. She has traveled extensively throughout the world and is the U.S. chair of a charity in Lamu, Kenya that places girls in intermediate schools to allow them to further their education.

freeFall Theater Company will present a sing-along of the book, Over the Ocean in a Coral Reef written by Marianne Berkes. The counting and rhyming story was arranged to the traditional folk song, Over in the Meadow, and the troupe will first sing - and then teach it, to the audience of youngsters and their parents.

The book has won seven awards since its release including PMA Benjamin Franklin Silver Award, Marion Ridgeway Honor Book Award, National Parenting Publications Gold Award, Learning magazine's 2006 Teachers' Choice Award, Bank Street College of Education Best Books for 2005 and the Blue Hen Award (Delaware) for best picture book.

June 4 Schedule
10:30am Fresh Fish Theater: The freeFall Theatre Company's singalong of Over the Ocean in a Coral Reef. Featured Creature is the Brown Pelican.

11:30am Reading of One Pelican at a Time: A Story of the Gulf Oil Spill and book signing by Author Nancy Stewart. The aquarium's museum store will have copies of the book for sale.

Book Nook Partner Organization: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pinellas County. Say the "secret" password and the little brother/little sister receives free admission with a paid adult admission
(2-for-1, one paid adult/one free child).

The Book Nook by the Bay is a literary event featuring Fresh Fish Theater and craft activity, Featured Creature facts, suggested reading by Youth Services Coordinator Beth Lindsay from the St. Petersburg Public Library System, the aquarium's marine science library and, of course, the reading of books. It is offered the first Saturday of each month and is free with a paid aquarium admission.

The Don CeSar's Beach House Suites is a sponsor of Book Nook by the Bay.

About The Pier Aquarium

Established in 1988, The Pier Aquarium is a private, non-profit aquarium and marine education center located in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida at The Pier. It showcases 17 tanks of live fish and other marine life and educational exhibits on the first and second floors and an outdoor marine laboratory and teaching unit, the Roy G. Harrell, Jr. Education Station, located on the Pier approach.

Its mission is to enhance the public’s understanding of the value and fragility of the local and global marine environment through research, education and personal experiences. The Pier Aquarium serves as the "public face” for the St. Petersburg Ocean Team’s research, innovation and technology. The Ocean Team is a consortium of 13 marine science and oceanographic institutions and environmental research agencies in the Southeast and one of the top such industry clusters in the nation.

More than 85,500 visitors, including 27,000 who participate in our scheduled educational programs, come to The Pier Aquarium annually to attend our Saturday programs, the annual Spa Beach Splash free marine discovery day and Summer Marine Adventures summer camp. Volunteers contribute more than 4,600 hours each year.