Young Mariner Program

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for another FINTASTIC season at the Young Mariner Program!

With 9 sold-out weeks, we packed in plenty of fun and adventure—in the classroom, out on the water, and at the beach! We truly couldn’t ask for a better group of kids and families to learn, explore, and make memories with all summer long.

Thank you for making this season so special and for continuing to support YMP. We hope to SEA you again next summer!

It was such a treat to come across this little baby horseshoe crab at the beach last week! We usually spot plenty of horseshoe crabs throughout the summer, but surprisingly, this was the first live one we’ve seen all season!

A friendly reminder: never pick up a horseshoe crab by its tail (telson), as this can harm them. If you need to help one, gently hold it by the sides of its shell instead. And despite how they may look, horseshoe crabs are completely harmless to humans!

We were SOOO excited to welcome Caitlin Townsend from the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Alliance to YMP last week for Coastal Fishes Week! Caitlin shared all about her experiences lobstering right here on Cape Cod, as well as fishing in Bristol Bay, Alaska! She had some of the coolest stories to share and gave our campers a firsthand look at what it’s really like to work on the water. An all-around awesome guest—thank you so much for joining us, Caitlin!

Another wonderful MIMIC survey with the Barnstable Clean Water Coalition! Our campers learned how to identify local species growing right beneath our docks, explored the difference between native and invasive species, and even worked together to complete a real data sheet. Citizen science in action! 🦀🐚🌿 🔬🌊

Thank you, Week 8!!! What a fun week it was! From time on the water to plenty of laughs, exploring, and learning, this crew made it one to remember.

Fishing is always a blast!

Week 7!! It was a HOT one, but we found plenty of ways to stay cool! From time on the water to lots of marine adventures, we made the most of another great week at YMP.

A few more shots from our Week 7 crew!

It was Crustacean Week, so of course we had to put our campers’ crab skills to the test! Using popsicle sticks, they played a crab-flipping game that mimicked how a horseshoe crab uses its telson (tail) to help right itself when it gets flipped over.

Fun fact! Despite the name, horseshoe crabs aren’t actually crabs at all! They’re more closely related to arachnids like spiders and scorpions.

And, of course, a few other photos of our campers exploring the museum and checking out what’s growing beneath our docks during some dock fouling!

With a group of 11 boys out of 12 campers, there are bound to be a few shenanigans! 😂