(Buford, Ga., Sept. 14, 2016) – No matter where you live, everyone depends on the ocean and its resources for food, medicine, jobs, oxygen and much more.  The Environmental and Heritage Center (EHC) invites guests to explore the science of watersheds, aquatic animals and oceans with a new exhibition entitled Ocean Bound!.

EHC Director of Programming Jason West said, “No matter where you live, everyone lives in a watershed. A watershed is an area of land that collects water and then drains or seeps into a marsh, stream, river, or lake and ultimately makes its way to a larger body of water like an ocean.  So, since everyone lives in a watershed, everyone’s actions on land potentially affect our oceans.”

Ocean Bound! presents four themed exhibit clusters that highlight the science of watersheds, threats to watersheds, solutions to counter those threats and ways to implement change and protect watersheds.

The exhibit includes multiple hands-on stations that allow guests to interact with watersheds.  Make it rain in a 3-D watershed model as well as pilot a full-size “submersible” from mountain stream all the way to the ocean, discovering eye-popping aquatic species and habitats along the way.

Guide water safely through a hazardous maze – but watch out for oil, mined metals and animal waste!  Divert pollutants as they travel through storm water drains and let clean water travel safely out to sea. Duck inside the Riverside Clubhouse and play with some early childhood exhibits.  Become a Watershed Warrior.

Ocean Bound! promises to provide fun, empowering environmental science for the whole family. 

The exhibition was created by the Sciencecenter of Ithica, New York, with funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA).  The exhibit is sponsored locally by the EHC Foundation and will be on the EHC campus beginning Sept. 19, 2016, until Jan. 4, 2017.  The exhibit is included in EHC admission. For more information, visit www.gwinnettEHC.org.