Whitten Holmes stuck his tongue out, eyes locked on the project in front of him.
He started with a piece of green turtle-shaped paper. With the help of some stickers, red circles and a Popsicle stick, he soon held up a turtle fan.
Whitten, 4, was one of more than 200 people who participated in the World Sea Turtle Day Scavenger Hunt. The event, sponsored by the Sea Turtle Conservancy, was held at the Florida Museum of Natural History from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Participants made crafts, learned about turtles from experts and participated in a museum-wide scavenger hunt.
“The goal is to get kids to be a lot more environmentally friendly with their actions from an early age,” said Rocio Johnson, public relations coordinator for the Sea Turtle Conservancy.
Sea turtles are endangered, and people can help them by not using too much plastic and properly disposing of trash, said Melania Lopez, Ph.D. candidate in the biology department and member of the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research at UF.
Abby McLeavy, 10, had a great time at the event. She likes turtles, particularly their size.
“I just like how big sea turtles are,” Abby said.
