Discover and Learn

Educational Resources

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Stay informed with up-to-date information on the park’s history, environmental initiatives, cultural heritage, and community programs. Engage with interactive content, explore multimedia presentations, and deepen your understanding of this unique Miami landmark.

Education Programs

Service Learning Program

HVKBP’s Service Learning program is a social studies and science based program geared towards grades 5 and up. Here Students learn the historic and ecological significance of Historic Virginia Key Beach Park. Once they are done with the tour the students participate in a beach cleanup where they help clean the beach/park. When they are done we weigh the litter the students picked up so they know how much they contributed to removing.

Citizenship & the Environment

This program is geared towards students in grades 1-3. Students learn about volunteering and protecting our natural habitats. They will learn a little bit about the natural habitats we have at the park and the importance of protecting these natural habitats. Students will then participate in a short beach/park clean up. As a show of appreciation we will provide the students certificates of appreciation signed by the executive director.

Eco-History Tour

HVKBP’s Eco-History Walking Tour is a social studies and science based program geared towards students Grades 4-12. Here Students learn the historic and ecological significance of Historic Virginia Key Beach Park from its inception to the present.

Local Heroes

In HVKBP’s Local Heroes program students will learn about prominent figures in Miami’s history, such as Athalie Range, Dr. Enid Pinkney, The Honorable Judge Lawson Thomas and Dana Dorsey. Students will learn about our local heroes and the impact they had on our city. This program is geared towards Grades 1-3. For older students in grades 4- 5 they will learn about their local heroes and the impact they had on the city and analyze the experience they had during the Jim Crow Era. They will compare their efforts to the efforts of other leaders such as MLK.

Planting with a Purpose

This program is geared towards 4-6 grade. On this field trip, students will use provided facts and data about different native plants and conditions at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park to make and defend planting decisions. Students will be asked to consider the needs of the environment, and the interests of park visitors, and create a budget, reflecting real-world challenges faced by HVKBP. Students will describe the biotic and abiotic factors of their planting location and the appeal of different native plants to visitors, environmental needs, and local wildlife.

Extended Eco-Walking Tour

On this extended eco-walking tour participants will experience the 4 major habitats at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park, which includes our coastal dunes, transition zone, tropical hardwood hammock, and mangrove forest. Students will learn the importance of these habitats and about the native flora and fauna that it supports. As well as receive a brief talk on the park’s historical significance. Due to the extended walking, this program will be geared towards upper elementary and beyond.

Volunteer Programs

Coastal Cleanups
Help keep Virginia Key's shoreline pristine by joining our Coastal Cleanups to collect and remove litter from the beach.
Exotic Removals
Participate in our Exotic Removals program to protect native habitats by clearing invasive plant species from the park.
Corporate Cleanups
Engage your team in a rewarding Corporate Cleanup experience, contributing to environmental conservation at Virginia Key Beach Park.

Virginia Key Beach Park Trust Digital Archive

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The Virginia Key Beach Park Trust archive is an oral history and photographic collection containing interviews from activists and citizens who participated in or experienced South Florida segregation and the mid 1940’s civic activism that was the foundation for the creation of the segregated Virginia Key Beach in 1945 (now Historic Virginia Key Beach Park) as well as its current restoration through the efforts of the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust. Each person uniquely recounts their personal experiences and histories about the beach, including stories about relatives, friends, and both political and personal battles in the segregated climate.

VK Virtual Tour

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Visit Our Virtual Tour site. This Virtual tour application allows you to discover notable points of interest at Historic Beach. When the tour site, Tap Home in the upper right to return to the main page. Tap Tour Map at the bottom to locate your position in the park and find the closest tour site. Tap Tour Sites to access a direct list of the virtual tour sites. Our Virtual Tour application is available on all web-enabled smartphones and tablet devices with a full browser. Visit mytour.toursphere.com on your device.

South Florida’s Civil Rights Wade In Classroom Activity (Grades 6-12)

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On May 9th, 1945, a group of seven Black beachgoers went swimming at Baker’s Haulover Beach in Miami. This was unusual because Miami’s beaches were off-limits to Black bathers. This historic swim was known as a “wade-in” and was an act of civil disobedience by those who took part. The goal was to draw attention to the fact that, despite the laws of Jim Crow touting “separate but equal” public facilities, there was no public beach available, at all, for African Americans and Afro-Caribbeans. This public act of law-breaking led to no arrests and little press was given to the event. Some think this is because of the city’s wish to maintain its reputation as a vacationer’s paradise.

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