Special Exhibits
Isabelle Krome’s family donated her vast collection of seashells to the Biscayne Nature Center in 2011. The collection has been carefully curated to display the unique and beautiful shells that Mrs. Krome found while exploring Key Biscayne, Virginia Key, Matheson Hammock and other local beaches.
Half-Moon Wreck
Designed by the famed yacht designer Dr. Max Oertz and built in 1908, at the Krupps Boatyard in Germany, this 154-foot two masted “schooner yacht sank off Bear Cut Bridge in a gale circa 1930 and is visible at 8-12 feet of water off the coast of Key Biscayne”. Today, the wreckage of Half Moon is a State Underwater Archaeological Preserve and is a haven for a plethora of marine life. Just offshore of Bear Cut, soft corals and sponges thrive on the hull, while juvenile reef fish hide in crevices beneath the deck.
History of Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne is the southernmost barrier island in the United States. Learn about the island’s rich history and evolution from a Tequesta Native American settlement to the nation’s largest coconut plantation to the modern island paradise it is today.
Marine Debris
Learn about the alarming threats to our oceans and its marine life and what each of us can do to eliminate plastic pollution in our oceans.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas Sculpture
Freda Tschumy’s life-size sculpture of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, in cast bronze on a teak bench, was unveiled at the Center in April 2005.
Tschumy says her idea was to “create a teaching device to show that even if you’re not big and strong, even if you’re not young,
if you have devotion to an idea, you can make a wonderful difference in the world.”
The sculpture is on loan to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. The next time you visit Fairchild, please take a moment to sit with Marjory.
