Work. Play. Mommy.

Start making family memories!

  • Travel with Kids
    • Disney
    • Travel Product Reviews
  • By Destination
  • Working Mom Life
    • Being Mommy
      • Adoption
      • Food For Families
      • Health and Fitness
      • Marriage
      • Mom Humor
      • Money
      • Parenting
  • Travel tips with kids
  • Who is Work. Play. Mommy.?
  • Work with me!

Tampa Manatee Viewing Center: Free Winter Family Fun

Destinations, Florida, Travel with Kids

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin14
14 Shares

Wondering how to see loads of marine life up close and personal in winter? Check out the FREE Manatee Viewing Center!

Manatee Viewing Center Review
What to see and do at the FREE Manatee Viewing Center in Tampa, Florida.

Free? From the electric company? That was my first response when I heard about the Tampa Electric Manatee Viewing Center.

However, if you are looking for a free and fun winter family activity in the Tampa area, the Manatee Viewing Center is a great place to start!

Manatee decoration at Manatee Viewing Center
The entire center is tastefully themed and decorated.

What is the Viewing Center?

Manatees, the gentle cows of the sea, seek out warm waters for their long lazy days of winter. So when the water turns cold, these gentle giants have learned that the waters around the Tampa Electric plant are a great place for lounging!

Watching manatee from viewing center
See the manatees from above at the manatee viewing center.

Loads of manatees drift in and out of the Viewing Center on the banks of the Tampa Electric plant along with scores of other sea creatures.

Tampa Electric has seized the opportunity to protect the sea life and give back to the community through the neat, clean, and completely FREE Manatee Viewing Center. As the manatees start congregating in the warmer water between November and April, the viewing center is a great free family winter activity!

Gardens at Manatee Viewing Center
Welcome Gardens at Manatee Viewing Center

The center has free parking, free admission, and even staff to answer your many marine-life questions.

What to expect at the Manatee Viewing Center

The Center is not an aquarium or a zoo. The animals are wild and unpredictable. This means, that you may see sharks one day (as my son and husband did) and see nothing another day.

Stingray Touch Tank
Stingray Touch Tank

Regardless of what wild animals come and go from the center, you will be greeted with a large, paved, free parking lot, simple food trucks, a sting-ray touch tank, and a long beautiful boardwalk winding through the mangroves and over the waters.

Even if you saw no animals, it is a lovely place to play in the interactive exhibits, take a walk along the boardwalk, and enjoy the view over the ocean (as long as you look away from the enormous power plant!)

Plus, the viewing center also has a modest cafe serving snacks and hot beverages for chilly Florida days!

Family walking along boardwalk through mangroves
Walk through the tangled mangrove forest along the banks of the manatee viewing center.
Ocean view
Views from the Manatee Viewing Center boardwalk

What animals might you see at the Manatee Viewing Center?

Anything that lives in the ocean might make an appearance at the Center.

You are likely to see dozens if not hundreds of manatees, but you might also see fish, stingrays, turtles, sharks, dolphins, crabs, birds, and more in the open waters.

Child in stingray tank
Are you brave enough to touch the rays?

Plus, as you walk through the tangled mangroves along the boardwalk, keep your eyes open for lizards, scampering mammals, creek dwelling fish, and more!

Even if you don’t see those animals in the water, make sure you see the many types of stingrays in the ray touch-tank and learn about the different types of sea turtles at the rehabilitation center.

Stingray
Stingray
Stingray tank
Stingray tank.

Don’t skip the ride to the rehabilitation center.

A short shuttle ride from the main viewing center is Tampa Electric’s research and rehabilitation center where scientists and volunteers alike work to save and rehabilitate turtles, coral, and other sea life.

Sea turtle rehabilitation
Sea turtle rehabilitation

Ordinarily, my children see marine animals in cages, preserves, or aquariums, but rarely do they get to see so many animals in the wild or on their way to rehabilitation.

RELATED POST: Indoor Activities for Kids in Granada, Spain

If you are lucky, you will even get to watch some of their sea turtles-in-residence.

My kids loved watching the different sea turtles, learning about the different kinds and sizes of sea turtles, and exploring the facility.

The entire facility spans more than 500 preserved acres. So, we chose to walk back to our car through the reserve between the viewing center and the rehabilitation center admiring the flora and fauna as additional fun for the family.

Tampa Electric Conservation Facility and pond
Tampa Electric Conservation Facility and pond

All in all, our family spent about 3 hours touring the entire Manatee Viewing Center, playing in the exhibits, learning about marine-life, and watching rehabilitation of wild animals.  

Tip: The shuttle is a great way to get to the rehabilitation center, but the short 1 mile walk between the parking area and the rehab center is a beautiful, leisurely walk through nature.

Girl walking along stone path
Walking through the rehabilitation center preserve

Where is the Viewing Center?

If you see the towering power power plant tubes, just keep driving toward them!

The address of the viewing center is 6990 Dickman Rd., Apollo Beach, FL 33572 .

Again, the center is only open from November to April, so check the official website for hours and operating times before you go at https://www.tampaelectric.com/company/fctc/

water along bank of Tampa Electric plant
Hidden below the a few inches of water are throngs of manatees seeking refuge at the manatee viewing center at the base of the Tampa electric plant.

The Manatee Viewing Center: Free Family Fun in Tampa

The Manatee Viewing Center is completely free, has tons to offer the whole family, and is a gorgeous place to spend a few hours.

Better yet, your children will learn a few things about types of stingrays, the migration habits of manatees, the generation of energy, or even the life spans of turtles.

The Manatee Viewing Center
Looking for something free for the whole family in Tampa in winter? Check out the Manatee Viewing Center to get up close to wildlife, spend time learning about conservation and rehabilitation of animals, and have great free family fun!

Our entire family had a great time, and we highly recommend it for any family that wants to experience ocean life up close and personal without having to pay a hefty entrance fee!

50+ Free Things to Do in Panama City Beach, Florida with Families
Best of Madrid, Spain with Kids
“THAT’S COFFEE” AND OTHER LIES I TELL MY CHILDREN
Tweet
Share
Share
Pin14
14 Shares

January 5, 2023 ·

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

  • 10 Magical Perks of Staying On Disney Property
  • Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is a Lava Fun for Families
  • What to Pack for Visiting JAPAN with KIDS!
  • KAIKOURA KAYAKS with Kids
  • Ten Unforgettable Experiences in Japan with Kids
Previous Post: « TOP 10 Tips for Visiting Kennedy Space Center with Kids
Next Post: Where to go on family vacation with kids in 2023? »

Primary Sidebar

Search:

  • What to expect at Work. Play. Mommy.
  • Disclosures
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 ·