Real sea turtle science, conservation, and tips — written for curious kids, parents, and teachers.
35 articles found
World Sea Turtle Day is June 16. Compare it with World Turtle Day on May 23 and try six source-based activities for kids and classrooms.
Why do lights hurt baby sea turtles? Learn how hatchlings steer by the brightest, lowest horizon, what disorientation means, and practical ways to reduce beach-visible light.
Find official Florida turtle-viewing programs and a hospital visit option, with current booking links and responsible beach guidance.
How swallowed plastic can harm sea turtles, what the often-quoted mortality study actually measured, and practical ways families can help.
Plan respectful turtle viewing in Hawaii with NOAA recommendations, a sourced park example and current local guidance.
Compare locally sourced nesting-season examples for Florida, Texas and Mon Repos, and learn why nesting dates are never a guaranteed viewing timetable.
An attributed introduction to honu in Hawaiian cultural accounts and Turtle in an Oneida creation story, with links to the communities and institutions sharing them.
Learn how hatchlings emerge, cross the beach and begin swimming, and why timing and behavior vary.
Meet the largest living turtle: its ridged, skin-covered back, jellyfish diet, deep dives and long migrations, with NOAA sources.
How to help sea turtles for real: a printable family checklist of actions that actually work — dark beaches, filled-in holes, clean line — and why each works.
Learn how satellite, flipper, PIT and acoustic tags help scientists study sea turtles, and why tracking maps have limits.
Researchers have recorded sea turtle sounds. Learn what studies of green turtles and hatchlings show, and what remains uncertain about communication.
A dated snapshot of global IUCN sea turtle categories, why regional populations differ, and how conservation assessments differ from legal protections.
Ten source-linked sea turtle facts about breathing, food, shells, migration, navigation and conservation, with a fact-check activity for kids.
Follow an imagined green turtle day, with source-linked facts about feeding, breathing, resting and basking. Every turtle’s day is different.
Learn why sea turtle survival to adulthood is difficult to measure, how regional estimates differ, and which threats conservation work addresses.
Sea turtle vs tortoise: what's the difference between turtle and tortoise? Learn about habitat, flippers, shells, diet, and lifespan in this kid-friendly guide.
Wondering what do sea turtles eat? Explore the diets of green, loggerhead, leatherback, hawksbill, and Kemp's ridley turtles by species and life stage.
A clear, kid-friendly guide to the sea turtle life cycle — nesting, hatching, the lost years, juveniles, and adults — with explanations of how the stages and survival differ among species.
A family guide to Oak Island sea turtles in North Carolina — loggerhead nesting, the volunteer turtle patrol, how visitors can help, and where to learn more.
How long do sea turtles live? Sea turtles can live for decades, but exact lifespans are uncertain. Compare species estimates, age at maturity, and how scientists study turtle age.
How do sea turtles navigate across whole oceans? Discover the magnetic 'map and compass' sense, natal homing, and the ocean cues that guide them home.
Why are sea turtles endangered? A kid-friendly look at the biggest threats — bycatch, plastic, climate change — and real ways your family can help save them.
Sea turtles have toothless jaws with feeding structures suited to different foods. Meet keratin beaks, serrated edges and leatherback papillae.
Can sea turtles breathe underwater? No — they're reptiles with lungs and must surface for air. Learn how they hold their breath so long and why nets are deadly.
Sea turtle dive time varies with activity and conditions. Learn why resting and swimming are different, and why no single breath-holding time fits every turtle.
Sea turtles rest underwater and must still surface to breathe. Learn what researchers can infer from diving records and why rest varies between turtles.
Leatherbacks can dive beyond 1,000 metres. Learn what measured depths tell us, why other sea turtles also dive, and how to read diving records carefully.
How fast can sea turtles swim? Compare measured leatherback speeds, learn why a study is not a world record, and explore how flippers move turtles.
The liquid near a sea turtle’s eyes helps remove excess salt. Learn about salt glands and why an eye secretion cannot tell us how a turtle feels.
Sea turtles can gain water by drinking seawater, while salt glands help regulate the extra salt. Explore the evidence from hatchling studies.
Sea turtles are reptiles. Explore their classification, lungs, land-laid eggs and the adaptations that make a simple cold-blooded checklist misleading.
A baby sea turtle is a hatchling. Learn the difference between hatching, emerging and growing into a juvenile.
Can sea turtles hide in their shells? No! Learn why sea turtles can't pull in their head or flippers, and how their bodies are built for swimming instead.
Sea turtle predators vary with life stage and location. Learn about nest predators, fish and sharks, and how human hazards add to natural risks.