Shells 101, Lady Lobster and Southie Treasures @ Kid's Bash

Save the Harbor's Kid's Bash and Splash was a show stopper! We pulled out all the stops, incorporating seven amazing activity stations, a barbecue lunch, and of course, our famous splash! The festivities included art, sports, fishing, kite flying, and, my favorite, the shell+ touch tank display! Imagine a beach covered in 400+ kids having the time of their little lives, then add a few more. In actuality, over 450 Boston youth came out to our kids bash!

At our shell display, 450 youth were able to explore seashells from creatures such as mussels, abalone, clams and periwinkles, to name a few. We had a seashell matching game set up to help kids learn to identify the seashells by size and shape. Most of the kids who came to the shell display couldn't even identify a mussel shell upon arrival! However, by the time they left the station, many kids were able to accurately identify plenty of different shells.

Lady lobster was also a big hit. When kids came up to the touch tank they were SHOCKED to see a REAL, LIVE lobster! Many of the kids had seen lobsters before, but usually only on dinner plates. It was interesting to be able to teach so many kids about their local decapodian mascot.

Kids were fascinated to learn that lobsters have two slightly different claws that are specialized for different duties. They liked the idea that the lobster had a big strong crusher claw in addition to a very sharp pincer claw. One child said that the different claws were like a knife and a fork!

Another favorite activity was guessing whether the lobster was male or female, then finding out how to tell for sure. For some reason, 90% of the kids were quite certain that this formidable-looking lobster HAD to be male. They were shocked to find out that she was indeed a lady lobster! The kids enjoyed touching the lobster's swimmerettes and its tail.

In addition to the lobster and shell activities, we did a special "Treasures of Southie" station, where kids could find "treasures" in a bin of sand. The treasures were in fact items such as sea glass, parts of toys, pottery pieces. It was interesting to have the kids think about the origins of the objects of their fascination. The kids enjoyed learning how beach glass was made and digging through the sand.

Before long, it was time for lunch, the splash, sea shanty singing and other activities! By the time the kids left, their bellies and minds were full of hot dogs and sea creature wisdom, respectively.

A Sea of Smiles!

Hundreds of kids from across the city make a big splash on the beach in South Boston.

On Friday 400 youth and teens from across the City of Boston joined Save the Harbor/ Save the Bay for a day of celebration on the beach at the Curly Recreation Center at M Street, hosted by Save the Harbor's Youth Committee in partnership with the Boston Center for Youth and Families.

Participants at the "Blue is Back" Kids Beach Bash and Splash included  Save the Harbor's youth program partners from South Boston, Dorchester, East Boston, Jamaica Plain, Chinatown, Roxbury, and Hyde Park. They spent the morning on the beach making sand castles, flying kites, and learning about crabs and lobsters from Save the Harbor's youth program staff.

At noon the kids simultaneously plunged into the cool clean water of Boston Harbor to celebrate Save the Harbor / Save the Bay's 25th Anniversary - under the watchful eyes of a team of lifeguards from greater Boston YMCA's, who were on hand to make sure that the event was fun and safe for everyone.  The splash was followed by a traditional cookout on the beach.

"It was a sea of smiles!" said Save the Harbor's Youth Committee Co-Chair Will Clark, 19, of Boston who now attends St. John's University. "Having some good clean fun on one of the cleanest urban beaches in America is a great way for kids to spend a summer day."

Save the Harbor's Youth Committee Co-Chairs Will Clark, Conor Newman and Thi Tran join Save the Harbor's Maritime Historian David Coffin in leading the traditional Sea Chantey "Haul Away Joe"

While heavy rains earlier in the week forced numerous beach closings across the region, on Friday blue flags were flying on the beaches of South Boston and North Dorchester Bay.

"In the past the South Boston beaches have been closed as often as one out of every five days in a typical year" said Save the Harbor / Save the Bay's spokesman Bruce Berman. "With the completion of the South Boston project earlier this year, there have been no combined sewer or stormwater discharges whatsoever on these beaches this summer, and nearly no beach closings. Though there will still be red flags on these beaches from time to time, these beaches are now among the cleanest urban beaches in the nation. That's cause for celebration - and that's what we intend to do!"

Save the Harbor's free summer youth programs are made possible by the generosity of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s youth program partners, Arbella Insurance Group Charitable Foundation, Inc, Forrest Berkley and Marcie Tyre Berkley, Coca Cola Foundation, Distrigas of Massachusetts, Friedman Family Foundation, John Hancock Financial Services, Inc., Massachusetts Port Authority, Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, Mayor Menino’s Summer Youth Employment Program, National Grid Foundation, P & G Gillette, P.I. Garden Fund, State Street Foundation and by the contributions of other corporate, and philanthropic partners and hundreds of individual donors.

Save the Harbor / Save the Bay is a non-profit, public-interest environmental advocacy organization, whose mission is to restore and protect Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay, and the marine environment and share them with the public for everyone to enjoy. Since 2003, our free youth programs have connected more than 50,000 young people to the harbor they have worked so hard to restore and protect.