Any suggestions for S. Florida?

There are three fun places you could visit depending on willingness/ability to travel a bit and of course, there is always the weather to consider.

First, you can still find Tampa Bay agates and agatized corals along the beaches of Honeymoon Island, near the northern end of Pinellas County. Here's a link for the Florida State Parks so you can get more info and see where H.I. is located.

www.floridastateparks.org/images/Default.cfm?Region=Southwest

You can also dig for fossilized Venus clam geodes at Rucks' Pit, just south of Yeehaw Junction on Rte. 441 South. It is too hot to enjoy this time of year but by mid- to late September you could have a fun time there. Kids under 12 are admitted free. You can explore multiple piles of concretions with embedded geodes, fossil shells, sharks' teeth, corals, and fossil mammal bones. Here's a link that provides a lot of good information about the Pit:

www.gamineral.org/commercial-fortdrum.htm

I have found some really exciting fossil shells at the Pit. Here is one of my favorites:





The shell is in perfect condition. It is just over an inch long and it is about 4 million years old.

I also have photos of a small piece of geode I found there:





Another fun experience here in Florida is to go fossil hunting in the Peace River near Zolpho Springs. You need to check the depth of the River because if it is running deeper than 6 feet it isn't safe. But there are lots of fun things to dig for there.

Here are links re: the Peace River:

This site posts the water level so you can find out when it is safe to visit.

i193.photobucket.com/albums/z220/ladybeabea/SmallpieceofVenusClamGeodewithCa-3.jpg

This site will show you how to make your own Peace River Screen. [You need something to sift through the "stuff" you shovel up from the river bed and these screens work really well.]

www.tampabayrockclub.com/Articles/screen.htm

There are also places to look for fossils in north Florida, especially near Gainesville. If you are looking for genuine rocks, though, you will have to travel out of state. There is a great location for rock-hounding in GA and there will be a big 3-day event there in October. Here's a link with additional info for Graves Mountain:

www.gamineral.org/commercial-gravesmountain.htm

If you haven't been already, you might also want to take them up to Venice and go out to Casperson Beach to look for fossil sharks' teeth. It's great fun and it's all done while splashing about in the Gulf, which is definitely a positive feature at this time of year.

Hope this info gives you a start on having fun adventures with your kids.

Lady B