Captiva Island will captivate you with the serene paced lifestyle, family activities to enjoy, beautiful sugary white sand beaches sprinkled with pastel colored seashells and glistening tropical azure blue seas.  In the village of Captiva Island there are quaint shops to explore and a variety of restaurants to experience.  Golf courses in the area where you can test your mettle on the green, and the fishing and boating are unequalled.  To end a perfect day witness breathtaking brightly colored sunsets.

You will be enchanted by beautiful, alluring Captiva Island, where once, it is said, pirates roamed, conquistadors explored and Calusa Indians called home.  The mystery and adventure is still here.  Treasures to be found in the way of a good life, spectacular white sand beaches scattered with “treasures from the sea”, pastel colored seashells and breathtaking sunrises and sunsets.  There are superb accommodations, restaurants and shopping.  Golfing, tennis, fishing, boating, children’s activities.

Captiva Island, is sister to larger Sanibel Island, and is just over a small bridge which crosses at Turner Beach.  Turner Beach is a great place for catching that prize fish and also for finding the colorful shells that these islands are famous for.  The beach stretches 5 miles to the northern tip of Captiva Island at Redfish Pass.  From the bridge at Turner beach, Captiva Drive is a scenic drive past giant cactus, colorful bougainvilleas and other tropical flora along a stretch of sea and sand ending at “downtown” Captiva, which is more of a village than a town.

A truly fun vacation, holiday, memorable wedding, honeymoon or just a get-a-way awaits young and old alike on Captiva Island.

Captivating Captiva Island is the perfect place for you and your family to spend a day or two of your vacation.  With Florida’s sub tropical climate Captiva Island has sunshine all year round.  Sugary white sand beaches littered with pastel colored seashells for which the area is world renowned.  The seas are a clear Caribbean azure blue.  Play golf until your heart desires, and the fishing and boating are unequaled.  For your dining pleasure there are restaurants offering “Floridian” cuisine and from casual, funky fun to fine dining.  Shopping in the village of Captiva Island is exhilarating and you will find something for everyone.

Your visit to Captiva Island is not complete without sampling some of the local fare and succulent fresh seafood.  You will find a wide selection of ethnic foods in the area. Dine in one of the fine restaurants where chefs cook up some of the freshest, tastiest dishes you have ever tasted.  Whether you are looking to enjoy a lavish six course meal or a more casual dining scene, you will find just what you’re looking for. Bon apetit !

It is time for fun on Captiva Island.  Enjoying a sub-tropical climate and being able to be outdoors in the sunshine all year around.  There are so many activitities to choose from, fishing, golf, boating, kayaking, canoeing, tennis, swimming, bike riding.  Go boating down the waterways and view a variety of wildlife such as, dolphins, blue herons, racoons and many different species of colorful birds.  Wonderful memories for all times for everyone.

Shelling is so much fun and Captiva Island has such a variety of shells to find, just to collect and admire or use in a craft, on a mirror, lamps, boxes etc.  Captiva is one of the islands that is literarily made up of shells, created over thousands of years, and is one of the islands that is considered best in the world for shelling.  The islands geography of lying east and west rather than north and south, as most islands, allows Captiva and its sister islands to catch abundant sea shells from the Gulf of Mexico.

“Shop ’til you drop” is a motto of some island visitors.  Captiva Islands shops are clustered at the north end of Captiva Drive and on Andy Rosse Lane.  Strolling along the village paths from shop to shop, you will find antiques, casual fashions, pottery, hand painted furniture and many unique gifts for that special someone.  Then try a restaurant to have that refreshing break. 

In this short essay I describe an easy to follow, step by step approach to deciding on and undertaking a project for your middle school science fair. As you’ll discover, what may seem quite daunting, can actually be very educational… and a lot of fun!

The initial step is to determine the experiment for your project. While you need to consider your teacher’s expectations, I would also encourage you to opt for an experiment that demonstrates how something works, and preferably, addresses a question people have about how the world operates.

When determining the kind of project to embark upon, you may, of course, be limited by what apparatus and materials you have around. Select something that’s realistic for you to undertake – you don’t want to be wasting time assembling all the ingredients, when you could be getting your experiment underway. It’s also a good idea to choose a science project that excites – or at least, interests – you. This just makes your project more fun to work on.

To help you brainstorm some ideas, check out the following questions that you could design an experiment to address:

1. Do different brands of bubble bath produce more or fewer bubbles? What makes the bubbles in baths pop?

2. Is all mold the same – i.e. does the same kind of mold grow on old vegetables compared with old bread?

3. Does sticky tape stick to some surfaces and not to others?

4. Which has more vitamins – canned, frozen, or fresh corn?

5. What kinds of soil are necessary to grow certain kinds of grass?

6. Where do you need to water plants to ensure they grow? Compare watering near the roots with watering the leaves.

Once you’ve chosen your project, it’s time to get it underway. Ideally, take your time and work in an environment where neither you, nor your experiment, will be interrupted. In many cases, you will have an expectation of what the outcome will be. If this outcome doesn’t occur, start the experiment gain, double-checking to make sure that there are no external influences. Otherwise, perhaps you’ve found an exception to the “rule” which may be interesting in itself.

When speaking about your project, I suggest you take it slowly, and be as cool, calm and calculated as possible. If you need notes, by all means use them, but try not to read them. Start off by introducing yourself and what your project is about, then explain the process and results, concluding by discussing the implications. By all means practice your presentation in front of parents, siblings and friends, and try to work out what questions the audience is likely to ask.

As your teacher and parents have probably told you, the middle school science fair is an opportunity to explore something you don’t know, discover how remarkable our planet is, and have fun too. So be sure to choose a project you’re interested in, and try to enjoy yourself.