Gulf Specimen's Gift Shop:  A New Shopping Experience

In an effort to make marine biology more fun, Gulf Specimen Marine laboratory has just expanded its gift shop with a donation from MacGowan Trust to make shopping a unique and educational adventure for Homoshoppicus — humans who love to shop.  For example, young homoshoppicuses can build their own sea horse, lobster or hammerhead shark out of wooden puzzles.  Soft sculpture pink octopuses, eagle rays and sharks are available, along with flick books, the old forerunners of cartoons where you flip through the pages and see a shark swim.  But for the adults there are a wide range of jewelry, necklaces, matted framed prints of sea creatures in unusual pewter picture frames, and attractive glass sculptures.  Wind chimes, fish mobiles, photographs and posters are there in great abundance.  Key chains, book markers, and cannonball jellyfish and crab magnets.

{sidebar id=1}The new gift shop was designed and stocked by Gulf Specimen's office manager, Debbi Clifford who says that in a previous life, before she came to work seventeen years ago, as collector, packer, now order processor, was in retail sales. Debbi loves books, so the new shelves are filled with children's books, picture books, and field guides to fish, sea shells, snakes and beach combers guides.  Of course Gulf Specimen carries Jack Rudloe's "Potluck," the "Living Dock"; "Search for the Great Turtle Mother," and the "Wilderness Coast," and other books, and you can get Anne Rudloe's "Butterflies on a Sea Wind, and "Priceless Florida".  Autographed, and personally inscribed, their books make wonderful customized Christmas presents!

It's not just little plastic sharks anymore!  Of course, we still have plenty of plastic sharks and other things that kids can afford, too.  If you don't make it before the holiday, come as soon as you can.  It's a lot more fun than the big discount stores!

This information originally published on December 7, 2008.

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Jack Rudloe

 

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