Today: Free admission for Island Beach State Park’s ‘Ocean Fun Day’

Island Beach State Park kicks off its summer event season today with “Ocean Fun Day,” an environmental education event for children and families.

Visitors will enjoy eco-tours of the island, hands-on activities, educational displays, classes, and Jersey Shore-oriented exhibits as well as learn about how to preserve natural coastal resources, according to a state release.

Activities include seining (net fishing), coastal crafts, an energy-saving scavenger hunt, youth fishing clinics, face painting, touch tanks, a clamming demonstration, a student science fair competition, and fiddler crab races.

“Ocean Fun Day is becoming a great tradition at Island Beach State Park and we’re excited to again provide some great recreation for our residents and to show off how fully our park has recovered from the battering it took from Superstorm Sandy,” said Island Beach State Park Manager Ray Bukowski. “Our beautiful barrier island, where visitors are always enjoying and learning about the environment and the park’s ecology, is a perfect setting for this fun and educational event.”

Organized by the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium (NJSGC) in coordination with the Department of Environmental Protection, Ocean Fun Day will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Visitors are directed to head to Ocean Bathing Area 1, which is about four miles past the park’s gatehouse.