A crabby evening at Jones Beach

As the sun set on June 3, about a dozen local folks trekked through Jones Beach State Park in search of more than picturesque views. 

The Theodore Roosevelt Nature Center sponsored a special walk at Field 10. The educational program focused on creatures that scientists consider living fossils —horseshoe crabs.

The nature center, nestled inside of the park that lies just south of Wantagh-Seaford, holds children’s programs and activities such as beach exploration, nature discovery, bird-watching and stargazing year-round. At the center, families can see whale bones in the Discovery Bone Cove, explore a shipwreck or take a walk on the boardwalk that leads out and around the beach dunes.

The area around the nature center was originally a barrier beach open to bathers, and the building that houses the center was once a bathhouse. The beach, West End 1, was closed due to low attendance and transformed into the nature center under the direction of former State Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro. The center, which uses solar power and geothermal air conditioning, opened in May 2000.

The center’s educational programs are designed to encourage youngsters to learn about and touch plants and animals in their natural environments, officials said. Children and parents from Wantagh, Seaford and surrounding communities had the chance to do just that on the horseshoe crab walk. 

Nature Guide Suzanne Montefinise led the group down the shore at dusk, in search of the crabs. After they found the crabs, she offered information about the beach-dwelling creatures 

To learn more about the nature center’s summer programs, visit www. parks.ny.gov/environment/nature-centers/4/details.aspx