Come Play! at CoastFest 2009

Birds of prey! A magician! Indian Legend and Lore! Face painting! Hurricanes, Floods and Weather!

These are but a few of the things awaiting your exploration, at CoastFest 2009, Saturday Oct. 3 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at Coastal DNR headquarters in Brunswick.

Sponsored by the Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources/Coastal Resources Division, CoastFest is Georgia's largest educational event, celebrating our state's coastal environment. More than 70 coastal environmental and educational organizations will join DNR to showcase our unique coastal habitat, its wild residents, and the various things that affect it.

See live native reptiles, raptors, amphibians, fish and more. Build a birdhouse … or a terrarium. Watch performances by Native American Indians. Be a magician's assistant for some amazing science projects. Watch as a sand sculptor creates a sand castle from 16 TONS of sand!

In addition to fascinating programs and displays, there will be kids' art activities, a cannon firing demonstration, the annual CoastFest Student Art exhibit, Creek Indian encampment, nature walks along the Earth Day Nature Trail, face painting, reef ball painting, a scavenger hunt, touch tanks and living history demonstrations.

Admission to CoastFest is free. The DNR Coastal Resources Headquarters are located at Conservation Way at US Highway 17 South, near the north end of the Sidney Lanier Bridge in Brunswick. For more information, call 912-264-7218 or visit Coastal Georgia DNR online.

CoastFest is sponsored by the Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources / Coastal Management Program and made possible through a grant provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Georgia Voyager Magazine launches new online publication

Georgia Voyager Magazine has launched its first online issue, according to editor and publisher Cathy Hodge. The online magazine features "page-flipping" technology that replicates the look and feel of the printed version, as well as links to featured attractions, sound files and more.

"The special features of our new online publication make it fun for adults to read, and provide interactivity for children," Hodge explained. "Among other things, there are links to learn more about historic sites and educational places to visit, and downloadable contests, games and educational activities."

The current issue includes features about Georgia's Fall Line, Georgia's prehistoric peoples, the Civil War in Georgia, The Great Locomotive Chase, Famous Georgia Women, and more.

Now in its 13th year, Georgia Voyager was created for children who requested information about the state during the 1996 Summer Olympics. In 2000 the magazine won the Georgia Outstanding Program of the Year award from the Georgia Council of the Social Studies. Since its founding more than 2 million copies of the quarterly magazine have been distributed to Georgia teachers and school children.

The Brunswick-Golden Isles Convention and Visitors Bureau is a proud sponsor of Georgia Voyager Magazine and its programs, including the annual Georgia History Essay Contest for Georgia students in grades 4-12. Essays are judged by a panel of historians, teachers and others, and the winners are announced during a special Georgia History Day ceremony at the state capitol in Atlanta.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau also has partnered with Georgia Voyager to offer educational study tour programs designed to meet the needs of every school and youth group. Standards-based lesson plans are available for students in grades 4 through high school, and include pre- and post-visit classroom activities which are tied to the latest state and national educational performance standards in history, geography, economics, science and language arts.

These programs are offered through a special teacher planning guide developed by the CVB and Georgia Voyager.

According to Bill Tipton, executive director of the Brunswick-Golden Isles Convention and Visitors Bureau, the educational travel planner has been very well received by Georgia teachers. "We've been extremely pleased with the response that we've gotten to the planner," Tipton

The travel planner is available free of charge from the Brunswick-Golden Isles Convention and Visitors Bureau. Call 800-809-1790 to request a copy. Or, you can download a copy of the guide from the CVB's official website. explained. "Because of our natural environment and variety of attractions, museums and historic sites Brunswick and the Golden Isles are an ideal destination for educational field trips."