4-H Tidelands Nature Center

Fantastic experience: Did their 2 hour marsh kayak tour. It was hot and AMAZING. Our guide was so kind and knowledgeable throughout the tour. Inside, they have a variety of animals such as turtles, snakes, stingrays, and such in little tanks to view. Note : This location is cash only. (But there's a fuel station <5 minutes away with atm)

Fantastic experience: Amazing! Staff knowledgeable and passionate about the subject matter.

Fantastic experience: What a fun and memorable adventure! We learned so much during the tour and were lucky enough to spot a dolphin and even a couple of small sharks. It was both exciting and educational—a perfect activity to add to your vacation. Highly recommend!

Fantastic experience: Wonderful tour at high tide! Very knowledgeable guides who have a great passion for protecting the marshes. We’ve taken two tours here, both experiences were great, and they both had different aspects to them.

Positive experience: A small but meaningful center.. There are turtles, gators, and snakes to see. Some are there temporarily and released into their natural environment eventually. Oh, yes, there's a sea turtle!!

Fantastic experience: Beautiful place with lots of places to explore nearby.

Fantastic experience: Set up a group tour and totally enjoyed Exhibits. It is a small place with good information and intentions.

Fantastic experience: Great little place to see some of the islands wildlife. They had baby alligators and a young sea turtle. I definitely recommend checking this place out when visiting the island!

Fantastic experience: Excellent little nature center. Turtles, snakes and gators. Great people who spent time with us to give extensive info. If you're on the island check them out!

Fantastic experience: Great little place to check out some of the animals there! Then canoe with the alligators!

Fantastic experience: The staff were amazing and you can tell they care a lot for the animals. For 5 dollars a person we got to see the information employees fed the turtles, tortoises, sea turtle and the baby alligators!

Fantastic experience: Love this place! Worth the cost, educational, and fun! They always show us an animal up close

Fantastic experience: Absolutely loved this!! The young man we had as a guide was awesome, full of interesting information and passion for what he was doing!! Definitely recommend for anyone with kids, all of mine loved this, ages 16 to 4.

Positive experience: Visited this week with the kids and their grandmother - while they loved seeing the critters, we all felt very unwelcome and rushed through the exhibits. The younger man that was on site was wonderful and very knowledgeable, even making sure we got to see the sea turtle. However, the older woman on staff was extremely rude and unwelcoming. I’ve been going here since I was a kid and this was my first bad experience due to her. She seemed like she didn’t want anyone there and spoke to us so rudely that the kids didn’t feel welcome looking through the exhibits. I would definitely not go back if she is still there. As a former member of 4-H myself (and with a teen in 4-H currently) it was disheartening to see a staff member act so rude and cold towards excited visitors. Big kudos to the younger male staff member who made sure we left with smiles though! He’s the only reason we did not leave 1 star.

Positive experience: $5 a person and only takes cash for admission and the gift shop. It takes about 20 min to walk through and see various turtles, snakes, rays, etc.

Positive experience: Great little museum with educational displays of local Jekyll Island marine animals such as turtles, crabs, and fish.

Positive experience: Very cool place to see all the animals that live in the areas around Jekyll island! They harbour a lot of species here that are native to the area. It's small, but the staff are very knowledgeable, its only 5$ p.p. and they showed us the feeding of the animals. Small baby gators, all kinds of fish, rays, snakes, turtles, tortoises. Plenty of free parking too.

Fantastic experience: Took a group of students for a field trip. All of the adults were patient and answered the many questions the kids had and made the experience fun and educational. They lived going to the marsh and especially getting to touch the various animals. Would recommend to other school groups.

Positive experience: Awesome little exhibit. Definitely worth the $5 entry fee! We attended a presentation with learning about all the creatures and got to pet a few. The younger lady that was helping with it does not like her job at all and really doesn't like teaching, especially to younger children. She was very rude and monotone throughout the whole thing. And of course when we decided to leave the nicer older lady started teaching, she actually seemed to care. Other than that the exhibit is awesome. Definitely more for older kids though.

Fantastic experience: Amazing, informative facility with live creatures to view and learn about.

Fantastic experience: We love to visit Tidelands! There are so many local animal exhibits and a lot of regional information! This place is perfect for a homeschool trip or just something to see while on vacation. Last time we were there, a fee of $5 was charged, but I would say the tour is worth the $5 donation to the cause.

Fantastic experience: I am amazed they have a great place it is very nice and clean great tours It's just great never seen a place quite like this.

Negative experience: Not very stimulating enclosures for the fish and reptiles kept there. The sea turtle was the saddest as he kept bumping his face up against the glass. The entire facility is past due for an update. The employee was very knowledgeable and answered all questions thoroughly.

Positive experience: Well. Since it is educational, I gave extra stars, but $5 per person when there are way more fish and reptiles at petsmart and it was self guided.

Fantastic experience: A lot of information about the animals. It's worth the $5/person.

Fantastic experience: Arrived right before they closed. Lovely place and such a friendly staff. Hope to come back when we have more time to explore.

Fantastic experience: Such a treat. This was a unexpected stop and it was perfect educational experience

Fantastic experience: I had a great time learning about the animals. The staff was fantastic. Kids learned even on vacation and had fun.

Fantastic experience: Really recommend a trip if you're staying on the island, especially for kids and others who have an interest in wildlife. Exhibits are informative and well-maintained(and named!). We've gone multiple times and always enjoyed it(Even if sometimes it can be especially packed in the smaller building size, and can get pretty warm) and this time, we especially enjoyed the tour and the host, Rachel, was wonderful! She was informative, especially kind and even gave behind the scene looks at some animals. And for just $5, and for a good cause, it's a nice little thing to do on the island, enjoying animals *and* learning.

Positive experience: Ok, 5.00 dollars to get in. Very small, but they really need to upgrade and clean the tanks so we can see them better. The ladies are very friendly and helpful. They also have kayaking, and that's fun. Just get the inside cleaned up some. And of course, there is no military discount. For 5, go check it out, not like it was 5 years ago.

Fantastic experience: You have to trail through the marsh. Although short, definitely made this field trip a special one.

Fantastic experience: Marvelous! So many specimens to touch and see. Lots of well written information that is relevant to what is seen around us

Fantastic experience: So much fun! The staff were extremely friendly and told us all about the animals! We loved the loggerhead!

Fantastic experience: Another "must do" when visiting Jekyll Island. We try to always support them whenever we can!

Fantastic experience: Completely enjoyed the instruction and marsh walk.

Fantastic experience: We appreciate all work that goes into this great resource for wildlife studies.

Fantastic experience: My family loved the guided kayak tour!

Fantastic experience: This place was great. Holly gave a really informative tour and she was also careful to work with our respective ability levels. Also, there really are manatees! So neat! Would absolutely do this again.

Fantastic experience: We Had a wonderful time. Dawn was so personable and friendly. I would recommend this place to everyone. Can't wait to return

Positive experience: It's nice but it could've been better. The guide didn't seem so enthusiastic when telling us about the animals. Also a lot of enclosures where empty.

Positive experience: It was really informative and we had a chance to see some sea turtles but I felt like the experience didn't justify the price of entry, although the cost does support turtle conservation.

Positive experience: Some small exhibits and a big loggerhead and snake hybrid . Nice worker

Fantastic experience: Great Facility, the people were sweet, the water was nice (and full of oysters lol) there were a lot of cute little crabs lol I reccomend this for a short tour or of you just want to go out on the water for fun. There is also a turtle there, his name is Nugget and he's adorable

Fantastic experience: Amazing place with awesome staff. Highly recommend. Loved getting to meet all of the reptiles, hands on.

Negative experience: The hours are different. The website says they open at 11 am to 3 pm. When we arrived there was a sign that 9 am to 4pm. As we walked to the ticket window. We saw a other sign that had 10 am to 5 pm. Then there was another sign saying they are opening at 12:30pm to 3pm. The only good part was watching the fish jump out of the water and seeing the alligator.

Positive experience: Great for student groups as you can have an educator do presentations with live animals on the back dock. If you’re a random walk-up it would likely be a little of a let down, so call ahead to see about having group presentations.

Fantastic experience: Wonderful experience with two littles- they were fascinated with all the animals. Kayleigh was very patient and kind with them!

Fantastic experience: Top notch! Our first visit was back in early 2000 with my daughter’s 2 day class visit. The original location was a former motel that they utilized for housing school groups along with a small marine science building that housed among many beach artifacts including sands from all over the world. Our hike through Jekyll Island’s maritime forest and our marsh visit remain a highlighted mark in time, I still look for sea pickles to eat while walking the edges of the marsh. Since that time they have built a new facility with a magnificent educational center and renovated the housing. Most of all they still teach marine science classes to new generations of children and give them a education about the beach, marsh, maritime forest and the ocean.

Fantastic experience: Very nice museum of aquatic creatures. The ladies who work here are very nice and we were able to see some of the animals being fed, including an Alligator.

Fantastic experience: Small place but very much worth visiting. The people who work there were very helpful and knowledgeable.

Fantastic experience: Took a great guided kayak tour through the 4-H Tidelands Nature Center!

Fantastic experience: Great place to see local wildlife and you support the animals, the cause and learning.

Fantastic experience: They different types of snakes, and other marine life. The ladies working there were really nice and knowledgeable. Kid friendly

Positive experience: Very friendly staff and very informative about the island and the wildlife.

Fantastic experience: Small center, perfect for an hour or so and little ones. Staff was friendly. It was fun learning the names of everything we've been seeing on the beach.

Negative experience: We paid and were pointed in the direction of where to go. Its 100% a self guided tour and takes about 10-15 minutes to get through. There's no interaction from the staff other than them asking if you're doing okay when they cross your path and one lurking behind you to ensure you're keeping your hands out of the cages. We have a local nature center at home where the staff always offer information and love to education about the animals and the area so that's what I'd hoped for here.

Fantastic experience: Would recommend this center if you visit Jekyll. Don't forget the Sea Turtle Center as well

Fantastic experience: We loved this place! Very affordable! They staff were really friendly. It wasn't busy at all! Highly recommended!

Positive experience: It's a bit small inside but the staff is friendly and the critters are interesting.

Fantastic experience: Had a great time! It was a wash out of a day, but the staff was great entertaining our girls. Very knowledgeable and related the material well to us. The sea turtles took our hearts away. Its a smaller location but had a fun time.

Positive experience: A few cool sculptures and pretty view over the lake

Negative experience: Second visit to Jekyll Island and we made time to stop by the Tidelands Nature Center on Thursday around 1030. On the door the sign said open but you had to check in at the window first. Went to the window and saw a young lady in the back speaking to someone. We knocked on the window and were ignored. Waited a bit thinking they would finish their conversation and then knocked again. Young lady walked out of our view and we thought she was coming to either the door or window. Nope, waited almost 10-mins and nothing. Lots of other stuff to do on the island then waste time wondering if these folks want to do their job.

Positive experience: Excellent, well cared for native animal live species. We didn't get to try the kayak trip in the saltwater marsh but will next time!

Fantastic experience: It was a lovely time. High tide caused us to use our muscles a little morw than we expected, but we were,able to see the manatee cone up for air and the weather was very nice. Our guide was super sweet and very informative.

Fantastic experience: Just absolutely a beautiful place to go to get a away and enjoy the scenery

Fantastic experience: Lots of fun

Fantastic experience: Very interesting and informative. They have turtles of various types and a Loggerhead that will be released out in the wild. Staff will answer all your questions.

Fantastic experience: Fun hands on education for all ages.

Positive experience: Just getting ready for the season .Friendly Staff .

Negative experience: Run down sad compared to other nature centers in the area. Needs to be updated and better funded

Fantastic experience: the best part of out week. it was informative and the people were knowledgeable

Fantastic experience: You got to do this trip wow. Megan was so informative this is a five-star operation.

Fantastic experience: Very informative and a cool little spot to check out.

Negative experience: Well, this is the one attraction we were really looking forward too, especially our 4 year old. We came this morning at 10, when it's supposed to open.The sign said open , 10:30 comes....nothing. door was still locked. But employees were walking around inside and even looked at us standimg outside. No sorry for the wait etc. ...so, 10:37.... We left. We really did try to squeeze it in because we were leaving to go home today. So instead of being able to do something before we left, it was wasted sitting outside. Pretty annoyed!

Fantastic experience: Love this place

Positive experience: Friendly staff. They got out several animals for our children to see and touch.

Positive experience: The center is small but appeals to children who don't function well in large crowds or noisy arenas. Nice staff. Nice exhibits. A sweet little secret on Jekyll Island that should be shared with the public.

Fantastic experience: I really like the staff here. They're friendly and know how to laugh haha. The creatures inside are beautiful too.

Fantastic experience: Took advantage of some of the summer programs today! What a fun time. Staff is always friendly and informative. Great inexpensive place to visit on the island. Remember to bring cash though, they can't take cards.

Positive experience: The animals seem happy and the folks running the place were very friendly. There isnt a lot to see but that's about the only thing going against it.

Fantastic experience: Such a fun experience! They have a gift shop that doesn't take credit cards so that caught us a little off guard, but overall a really cool place.

Fantastic experience: Small place and the exhibits are a bit worn and show their age. Still well worth the price of admission. Very informative and I got all my questions about beach wildlife on the island answered. The kids loved touching a horseshoe crab, a snake and an alligator and seeing many other animals. Take cash. They didn't accept cards for admission or in the gift shop.

Fantastic experience: Great time with Glynn County's Extraordinary Educators! The staff at Tidelands Nature Center provided a very informative session; Thank you all for your expertise, continued success!

Positive experience: Don't judge a book by its cover. The kids had a blast here. More critters and hands-on than the turtle center. Highly recommend if you have young children.

Fantastic experience: Loved it. I have been coming here for 28 years or so and hope for 28 more.

Negative experience: Not even sure what the purpose of this facility is, and I am not trying to be snarky at all! The interior is very similar to a store for aquarium supplies, and it is difficult from the outside of the building to find the entrance. There is a very cool whale sculpture on the immediate grounds, but we feel our time was better spent at the turtle rehab center down the road.

Fantastic experience: The staff here are super knowledgeable and friendly to kids. They have lots of displays and touch tanks as well as models and interactive stations. They offered reptiles of a wide variety to see and interact with. The facility is intimate in size but that allows much closer interaction with the displays. They also have a small gift shop with shirts, toys, maps, puzzles, and educational books and booklets available.

Fantastic experience: Had an incredible time. We came with a large university group and they went above and beyond to take care of us and ensure that we learned the most. Is a great resource for the island.

Fantastic experience: Wonderful staff. A good way to let kids see the creatures we share our environment with.

Fantastic experience: One of the Best places on Earth. Dawn Zenkert and staff make a trip to Jekyll Island a deep, fun, and educational one. A big gem in a little package.

Positive experience: Location is small but plenty to see. Staff is great. Got to touch snakes and alligators. This is a must see had a great time will be going back on next trip to the island. Make sure to support them.

Fantastic experience: Filled with wildlife. Great fishing. Beautiful weather. Took lots of great pictures of waterfowl.

Fantastic experience: They offer some of the most fun and informational programs for people of all ages.

Fantastic experience: Took 9yo to a few of the organized kids activities. Staff were mostly young interns or students who clearly loved working there and sharing their love for the tidelands and its inhabitants with visitors. Exhibits are not terribly slick or expensive, but they're still fun and informative, and they don't charge much for admission or the activities.

Positive experience: Kind of cool, but you can walk through in 5 minutes. I feel bad for the sea turtle in the tank. The feeding program looked good for kids.

Positive experience: Lots of cool animals to see and some you get to interact with and touch. Definitely worth checking out if you are an animal lover.

Fantastic experience: Really cute great with kids fun for an afternoon

Positive experience: The place is really small. It would be nice to have a few more displays. The staff was really nice they actually let us pet an alligator.

Fantastic experience: Wonderful and informative programs and lots of animals inside.

Fantastic experience: This is a great stop on Jekyll to learn about native creatures and plants. They have a rescue loggerhead and several other sea creatures for you to see. There are also snakes and turtles. When it’s nice there is a covered area that’s good for picnicking.