Let's All Go to The Oatland Island Education Center!...POOLER'S closest zoo, Oatland Island Education Center, is fun for both kids and adults. Ready to discover this exciting native species zoo and educational center?.. 
Where's it Located?.... and How Much Does It Cost?The Oatland Island Education Center is located about 15 minutes from Pooler, GA - 5 miles east of downtown Savannah off Islands Expressway, @ 711 Sandtown Rd., Savannah, GA (912) 898-3980
If you have children and live in the local area, you’ll want to become a “Friends of Oatland Island” member. For a small annual fee, your family can enjoy the center all year and receive event admission discounts. 
What Can We Do There?Several times throughout the year, the Oatland Island Education Center provides special events to the public. The size and quality of the events at the center continue to improve and get bigger each year. Use the Pooler-Georgia-HOMEPAGEevent calendar to keep up with all the exciting activities and festivals, throughout the year. In addition to offering more than 40 student programs, they have more than 50 indigenous Georgia animals that are used in educational programming, many of which are an endangered and/or threatened species. Most animals are located along a 2 mile trail in large, natural enclosures. 
The Story of Oatland IslandHere’s a brief summary of the site’s past and resources that can be used to learn more about this important & beautiful - native species zoo.
Historic details of the site that is now known as Oatland Island can be found in a historical novel by Eugenia Price entitled “Don Juan McQueen” (see references below).
About 200 years ago the island was cleared of trees when a successful business purchased the property to use grow cotton.
There was no further development of the land until the Order of Railway
Conductors (ORC) purchased the land, in 1926. They constructed a “Railway Conductor’s
The property was sold to the U.S. Public Health Service and the main facility was converted to a hospital, in 1941. The hospital was used to study Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD’s).
By 1945, the property was offered to the (MCWA) Malaria Control in War Areas, a organization of the Public Health Service. Later, the group was renamed the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Numerous experiments were performed on the site, until the ill effects of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) were realized.
In 1973, the Laboratory moved to Atlanta. At that time, the site was turned over to the Savannah Board of Education, but kept ownership of the land in the hands of the CDC for the next 30 years.
In 1998, the contaminated site was closed to remove the DDT from the grounds.
The contract with the CDC expired in 2004, at which point, the School Board took full possession of the property. The Board of Education now owns the land, free and clear.
Where Can I learn More about Oatland Island?Check-out the Oatland Island Web siteGreen Earth T.V. Visits Oatland Island Medieval Festival Pictures , More Pictures Annual Cane Grinding Festival Highlights Click here, then scroll down and click Oatland Island Cruise. There, you'll see this, and other tours in the Pooler Area. Learn about an exciting opportunity to combine a cruise of the waterways with a walk on the wild side. Panthers, wolves, bison, birds of prey and more are seen in their natural habitat. Sea Side Institute Mentions the Center
Historical novels and other literature can be used to gain a better picture of Oatland Island’s History:Ethridge, Elizabeth W.; Sentinel for Health: a History of the Centers for Disease Control, U. of California Press, 1991.
Fay, R. W., Baker, J.T., and Jensen, J.A.; Radioactive Tagging of Culex quinquefaciatus (Say) with P-32; Mosquito News, Vol. 19, No. 3, 1959.
Hayes, W.J., Ph.D, Durham, W.F., Ph.D., and Cuetos, C., B.S., The Effect of Known Repeated Oral Doses of DDT in Man., J. Am. Med. Assoc., Vol. 162, Oct. 27, 1956.
Jensen, J.A. and Fay, Richard W.; Tagging of Adult Houseflies and Flesh Flies with Radioactive phosphorus, Journal of Tropical Medicine, Vol. 31, No. 4, 1951.
Jensen, J.A., Pearce, G. W., and Quarterman, K.D.; A Mechanical System for Dispensing Known Amounts of Insecticidal Vapours, Bull. Wld. Hlth. Org., 24, 619-622, 1961.
Maddock, D.R., Sedlak, V. A., and Schoof, H. F.; Dosage-Mortality Response of Musca Domestica Exposed to DDVP Vapour; Bull. Wld, Hlth. Org., 24, pp. 643-644, 1961.
Maddock, D.R., Sedlak, V. A.; Dosage-Mortality Response of Anopheles Quadrimaculatus Exposed to DDVP Vapours, Bull. Wld. Hlth. Org., 24, 644-646, 1961.
Mattson, A. M., Spillane, J.T., and Pearce, G.W.; Dimethethyl 2,2-Dichlorovinyl Phosphate (DDVP), a Compound Highly Toxic to Insects. J. Agr. Fd. Chem.; 3, pp. 319-21, (1955).
Mattson, A.M., Spilliane, J.T., Baker, Curtis, and Pearce, G.W., Determination of DDT and Related Substances in Human Fat., Analytical Chem., Vol. 25, No. 7, July 1963.
McCray, Elmo M., Jensen, J.A., and Schoof, H. F.; Cobalt-60 Sterilization Studies with Aedes aegypti (L.). Proceedings of Forty-Eighth Annual Meeting of the New Jersey Mosquito Extermination Assoc., 1961.
McCray, Elmo M.; A mechanical Device for the Rapid Sexing of Aedes aegypti Pupae.; J. Economic Entomology, 54(4), p. 819, August, 1960.
Miles, J. W., Pearce, G.W., and Woehst, J. E., Stable Formulations for Sustained Release of DDVP., Agricultural & Food Chemistry., Am, Chem. Society., Vol. 10, pp. 240-244, 1962.
Pearce, G. W., Paper submitted to the WHO Expert Committee on Insecticides; Geneva, Switzerland, 1960.
Pearce, G. W., Schoof, H. F., and Quarterman, K.D., Insectical Vapors for Aircraft Disinsection; Bull. Wld. Hlth. Org., 24, pp. 611-16, 1961.
Price, Eugenia; Don Juan McQueen, Buccaneer Books, 1974.
Rasmussen, W.A., Jensen, J.A. Stein, W.J., and Hayes, W.J., Toxicological Studies of DDVP for Disinsection of Aircraft, Aerospace Medicine, Vol. 34, No. 7, July 1963.
Schoof, H. F., Jensen, J.A., Porter, J. E. and Maddock, D. R.; Disinsection of Aircraft with a Mechanical Dispenser of DDVP Vapor, Bull. Wld. Hlth. Org., 24, 623-628, 1961.
Witter, R. F., Gaines, T.B., Short, J. G., Sedlak, V.P. and Maddock, D. R.; Studies on the Safety of DDVP for the Disinsection of Aircraft, Bull. Wld. Hlth. Org., 24, 635-642, 1961.
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