Bucket Brigade Beach Tours in Galveston, Texas, Teach Kids to Respect the Beach

A summer vacation in a laid-back beach town sounds like a dream come true for family travelers, but add in fun and educational activities for kids and you’ve got a sure-fire winner on your hands. Galveston delivers on these components and ups the game with Bucket Brigade tours, giving your family the perfect place to relax and have fun with a healthy dose of responsible travel mixed in.

In partnership with Galveston Park Board of Trustees, these tours are run by a nonprofit organization known as Artist Boat, which works to protect and preserve the Gulf Coast. Bucket Brigade tours are led by local experts and designed to teach about the coastal ecosystem, particularly the roles of sargassum (a type of brown algae that looks like seaweed); turbid water (water that isn’t clear because it has some type of organic matter in it, like algae); marine sediment and other debris found in the water; and how they impact the coast, water and marine life. These tours teach families about the beach and importance of caring for the environment, not only at the beaches they visit but also at home, where the trash they leave behind can make its way into the world’s delicate marine ecosystems.

These tours, on Saturdays and Sundays, happen on East Beach, on the easternmost tip of the island facing the Gulf of Mexico, also known as the Gulf of America. East Beach isn’t the main swimming beach on the island, so to enjoy a day of regular family-friendly beach activities, you’ll want to head to Stewart Beach after your Bucket Brigade tour. You have four opportunities to take the tour on the days they are offered and, since they only take 45 minutes, they are perfect for little ones and their kid-length attention spans, leaving you free to the other great activities around the island.