Texas Parks and Wildlife Department brings the coast to local communities each year through Coastal Expo. Coastal Expo is a fun, family-oriented event with activities for all ages! Visitors see and touch crabs, sea stars, and other coastal animals; view a glass-bottom stream; solve a mysterious fish kill; learn what washes up on Texas beaches; fish for live catfish; and participate in other great activities. In the process, everyone learns about Texas coastal ecosystems, why they are important, and how to protect them.

The first Coastal Expo event was in 1999 in San Antonio.  Since then, over 170,000 people have attended the 94 expos that occurred across the state, from Dallas to Edinburg. These events would not be possible without our partners and volunteers.  Our partners provide in-kind donations along with additional resources needed to conduct an event. Hundreds of volunteers teach kids about fishing and other outdoor activities, introduce them to the natural resources and ecosystems found on the Texas coast and Gulf of Mexico, and discuss the importance of freshwater inflows to the bays and estuaries.  In addition, local nonprofit and government agencies are invited to participate as exhibitors to raise awareness of local environmental issues in their communities.    

If you are unable to attend an event, TPWD also provides Coastal Expo kits for schools, nonprofits, or communities to utilize to host their own Coastal Expo events in their schools and communities. These kits contain all the materials and resources necessary to conduct a Coastal Expo.     

The next Coastal Expo will be in Edinburg, TX on February 12th & 13th at the Edinburg Municipal Park in partnership with the Edinburg Scenic Wetlands. Please check out our video on YouTube or contact Kris Shipman for more information.

We have a ton of activities and information to support your learning and teaching in our Keep Texas Wild Teacher Resources.  Here's one example:

Beach Tidings!

Kids get so excited when they catch sight of those waves – and who can blame them!? But, just think of how much more exciting a beach trip would be for children if they were fully aware of all that happened around them on the sand in the animal world, too.

We've chosen to concentrate on the beach environment, meaning the part of the coast where you find waves. However, the bays and estuaries of Texas also have a plethora of life to explore and discover as well and some of the same flora and fauna we'll introduce can be found all along the Texas Gulf Coast.

As we teach children about the life that lives along our Texas beaches, it's easy to picture the ocean water itself as alive. The way it perpetually stays in motion makes it seem almost as if it is breathing.

Print "Beach Tidings" You may print and distribute this PDF of the article for classroom use.

Student Research Pages These Web pages are for your students, with links to activities, video clips and related Web sites to guide students' research.

Background for Teachers Learn more about this topic.

Activities and Lesson Plans From discussion questions to fun activities, try these supplements to your curriculum to engage students.

Vocabulary - Definitions and Context These definitions include a context sentence to aid in understanding.

Project WILD Activities Activities suited for this topic.

This eNewsletter is produced by TPWD's Conservation Education section.  If you enjoy this information, you should follow us on our Facebook page, Conservation Education at Texas Parks and Wildlife!  Our page's goal is to inspire appreciation and love of the outdoors, and create a willingness to protect and conserve it.  By LIKING the page, you'll receive timely updates on events and topics related to education on conservation topics.