Welcome to the observation platform at the UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium on Skidaway Island! This boardwalk is part of our Jay Wolf Nature Trail, and it overlooks the Skidaway River which has an average tidal range of 6-8 feet. Throughout the day, you may see exposed mud flats and oyster reefs at the base of the marsh at low tide, or just the tips of the marsh grass at high tide. Georgia’s salt marshes and oyster reefs provide important habitat for commercially and recreationally important fish and crabs. They also filter pollutants, stabilize sediment, buffer wave energy and protect properties from erosion and storm surge. This site is monitoring changes along this particular stretch of shoreline that borders our aquarium facility, the UGA Shellfish Research Lab and the UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography.

UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium

UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant is committed to improving the environmental, social and economic health of the Georgia coast through research, education and extension. We have several facilities along the coast, including the UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium and the Shellfish Research Lab on Skidaway Island as well as our office in Brunswick. The aquarium is our most public-facing facility, serving more than 45,000 people annually through student field trips, teacher workshops, summer marine science camps, internships and public programs. The facility boasts 16 display tanks that house loggerhead sea turtles, stingrays, diamondback terrapins and more. Touch tanks allow visitors hands-on interactions with whelks and horseshoe crabs. Marine educators at the facility provide people of all ages with information and experiences that inspire them to appreciate the beauty and complexity of Georgia’s coastal habitats. 