Turtle Facts & Guides
Real sea turtle science, conservation, and tips — written for curious kids, parents, and teachers.
41 articles found
What Happens to Sea Turtles in Winter?
Learn why cold water can cause sea turtles to become cold-stunned, how this differs from resting, and why trained wildlife teams handle rescues.
Sea Turtle Migration: Make a Map, Ask a Question
Use a sourced sea turtle migration example and a clearly labeled pretend grid to practice mapping, evidence, and the limits of tracking data.
Sea Turtle Food Web: A Build-It Activity
Build a sea turtle food web with paper cards. Compare green turtles and leatherbacks, follow food-to-eater arrows, and explain your model.
Sea Turtle Adaptations: Match a Feature to Its Job
Explore sea turtle flippers, shells, lungs, and feeding features with a simple drawing activity that separates observations from explanations.
How Sand Temperature Affects Sea Turtle Hatchlings
Explore temperature-dependent sex determination with our Temperature Lab, then explain what a simplified model can and cannot predict about a real nest.
How Many Eggs Do Sea Turtles Lay?
Learn what a clutch is, why nest counts vary, and how eggs differ from hatchlings. Try a clearly labeled pretend loggerhead counting activity.
World Sea Turtle Day (June 16): Kid and Classroom Activities
World Sea Turtle Day is June 16. Compare it with World Turtle Day on May 23 and try six source-based activities for kids and classrooms.
Why Do Beach Lights Hurt Baby Sea Turtles?
How hatchlings steer by the brightest, lowest horizon, what disorientation means, and practical ways to reduce light that shines onto nesting beaches.
Where to See Sea Turtles in Florida: A Family Guide
Find official Florida turtle-viewing programs and a hospital visit option, with current booking links and responsible beach guidance.
What Happens When a Sea Turtle Eats Plastic?
How swallowed plastic can harm sea turtles, what the often-quoted mortality study actually measured, and practical ways families can help.
Where to See Sea Turtles in Hawaii: A Family Guide
Plan respectful turtle viewing in Hawaii with NOAA recommendations, a sourced park example and current local guidance.
Sea Turtle Nesting Seasons: A Locally Sourced Calendar
Compare locally sourced nesting-season examples for Florida, Texas and Mon Repos, and learn why nesting dates are never a guaranteed viewing timetable.
Sea Turtle Myths and Legends From Around the World
An attributed introduction to honu in Hawaiian cultural accounts and Turtle in an Oneida creation story, linking to the communities sharing them.
The Sea Turtle Hatchling Frenzy: The Run to the Sea
Learn how hatchlings emerge, cross the beach and begin swimming, and why timing and behavior vary.
Leatherback Sea Turtle Facts: The Deep-Diving Giants
Meet the largest living turtle: its ridged, skin-covered back, jellyfish diet, deep dives and long migrations, with NOAA sources.
How to Help Sea Turtles: A Printable Action Checklist
How to help sea turtles for real: a printable family checklist of actions that actually work — dark beaches, filled-in holes, clean line — and why each works.
How Do Scientists Track Sea Turtles?
Learn how satellite, flipper, PIT and acoustic tags help scientists study sea turtles, and why tracking maps have limits.
Do Sea Turtles Make Sounds? The Truth About Turtle Sounds
Researchers have recorded sea turtle sounds. Learn what studies of green turtles and hatchlings show, and what remains uncertain about communication.
Are Sea Turtles Still Endangered in 2026? Status by Species
A dated snapshot of global IUCN sea turtle categories, why regional populations differ, and how conservation assessments differ from legal protections.
10 Amazing Sea Turtle Facts Kids Don't Know
Ten source-linked sea turtle facts about breathing, food, shells, migration, navigation and conservation, with a fact-check activity for kids.
A Day in the Life of a Sea Turtle
Follow an imagined green turtle day, with source-linked facts about feeding, breathing, resting and basking. Every turtle’s day is different.
Why Do So Few Sea Turtle Hatchlings Survive?
Learn why sea turtle survival to adulthood is difficult to measure, how regional estimates differ, and which threats conservation work addresses.
Sea Turtle vs Tortoise vs Turtle: What's the Difference?
Sea turtle vs tortoise: what's the difference between turtle and tortoise? Learn about habitat, flippers, shells, diet, and lifespan in this kid-friendly guide.
What Do Sea Turtles Eat? A Diet Guide by Species and Age
Wondering what do sea turtles eat? Explore the diets of green, loggerhead, leatherback, hawksbill, and Kemp's ridley turtles by species and life stage.
The Sea Turtle Life Span Cycle: From Egg to Ancient Mariner
A kid-friendly guide to the sea turtle life cycle — nesting, hatching, the lost years, juveniles and adults — and how the stages differ among species.
Sea Turtles of Oak Island, North Carolina: A Family Guide
A family guide to Oak Island sea turtles in North Carolina — loggerhead nesting, the volunteer turtle patrol, how visitors can help, and where to learn more.
How Long Do Sea Turtles Live? Lifespans by Species
Sea turtles can live for decades, but exact lifespans are uncertain. Compare species estimates, age at maturity, and how scientists study turtle age.
How Do Sea Turtles Navigate Thousands of Miles?
How do sea turtles navigate across whole oceans? Discover the magnetic 'map and compass' sense, natal homing, and the ocean cues that guide them home.
Why Are Sea Turtles Endangered? Threats and How to Help
Why are sea turtles endangered? A kid-friendly look at the biggest threats — bycatch, plastic, climate change — and real ways your family can help save them.
Do Sea Turtles Have Teeth?
Sea turtles have toothless jaws with feeding structures suited to different foods. Meet keratin beaks, serrated edges and leatherback papillae.
Can Sea Turtles Breathe Underwater?
Can sea turtles breathe underwater? No — they're reptiles with lungs and must surface for air. Learn how they hold their breath so long and why nets are deadly.
How Long Can a Sea Turtle Hold Its Breath?
Sea turtle dive time varies with activity and conditions. Learn why resting and swimming are different, and why no single breath-holding time fits every turtle.
Do Sea Turtles Sleep? (And Where Do They Do It?)
Sea turtles rest underwater and must still surface to breathe. Learn what researchers can infer from diving records and why rest varies between turtles.
How Deep Can Sea Turtles Dive?
Leatherbacks can dive beyond 1,000 metres. Learn what measured depths tell us, why other sea turtles also dive, and how to read diving records carefully.
How Fast Can a Sea Turtle Swim?
How fast can sea turtles swim? Compare measured leatherback speeds, learn why a study is not a world record, and explore how flippers move turtles.
Do Sea Turtles Cry? The Truth About Turtle 'Tears'
The liquid near a sea turtle’s eyes helps remove excess salt. Learn about salt glands and why an eye secretion cannot tell us how a turtle feels.
How Do Sea Turtles Drink Water?
Sea turtles can gain water by drinking seawater, while salt glands help regulate the extra salt. Explore the evidence from hatchling studies.
Are Sea Turtles Reptiles?
Sea turtles are reptiles. Explore their classification, lungs, land-laid eggs and the adaptations that make a simple cold-blooded checklist misleading.
What Is a Baby Sea Turtle Called?
A baby sea turtle is a hatchling. Learn the difference between hatching, emerging and growing into a juvenile.
Can Sea Turtles Hide in Their Shells?
Can sea turtles hide in their shells? No! Learn why sea turtles can't pull in their head or flippers, and how their bodies are built for swimming instead.
What Eats Sea Turtles? Predators at Every Life Stage
Sea turtle predators vary with life stage and location. Learn about nest predators, fish and sharks, and how human hazards add to natural risks.