Why Bring Your Students to Greater Cleveland Aquarium for a Field Trip?

With the new school year officially underway, teachers are busy juggling lesson plans, classroom routines, new students, and probably (hopefully?) a growing list of field trips to plan.

As you start thinking about where your students can learn outside the classroom this year, we have a few reasons to include Greater Cleveland Aquarium in those plans.

Give Students Experiences They Can’t Get from a Textbook

There is something powerful about seeing an animal in person, especially for the first time ever. Your students may have seen a picture of a shark in a science book, and they may have watched a video of an octopus changing colors or learned about stingrays and their amazing adaptations in a classroom.

But the opportunity to experience

• A shark gliding directly over your head as you stand below its 230,000-gallon saltwater habitat
• A giant Pacific octopus use its many suction cups to move gracefully around its rocky substrate
• A cownose stingray’s smooth wings as it glides by your students’ hands that they’ve gently placed in the touch pool?

These experiences create emotional connections to nature that no picture or video can replicate and memories your students take home and keep long after their field trip ends.

Greater Cleveland Aquarium gives Northeast Ohio students the opportunity to encounter animals and ecosystems that may otherwise feel very far away. From saltwater species to reptiles, amphibians, and freshwater species, these animals can turn the concepts students have learned about in the classroom into something real (and sometimes very tangible!)

Encourage Curiosity at Every Turn  

With educational programs designed around inquiry-based learning, we encourage students to observe, investigate, ask questions, and make connections with specific materials aligned to each program based on Ohio’s Learning Standards.

Rather than simply giving students information, our program materials provide students with opportunities to engage with what they’re seeing throughout their Aquarium visit. Whether they’re investigating animal adaptations, exploring ecosystems, or thinking about the ways humans interact with natural environments, students are active participants throughout their field trip.

By using this approach, we provide teachers with an opportunity to connect an Aquarium visit to concepts they’re already exploring in the classroom. Additionally, our team is available to discuss pre- and post-visit materials, as well as customized talking points for your group to align with your desired topic(s).

Small Groups and Big Opportunities to Ask Questions

Field trips land differently when students can actually interact with their educator.

The Aquarium accommodates up to 75 people at a time and breaks large groups down into smaller groups. With 15-person maximum guided tours, your students aren’t packed into one enormous tour where asking questions means shouting to be heard.

These smaller groups create a more intimate experience where students ask questions as they explore, and our educators provide personalized answers, follow their curiosity, and spend a little more time on the things that capture their attention. And, at the Aquarium, no question is a bad question, rather it’s an opportunity to engage.

Programs for Every Classroom

Whether you’re looking for a traditional school field trip, a more hands-on lab experience, or virtual programming to skirt around any transportation challenges*, Greater Cleveland Aquarium has a program to complement classroom learning.

And the experience doesn’t have to end when your students walk back onto the bus. A great field trip gives students something to talk about and reflect on long after returning to the classroom. It also gives teachers opportunities to lean into their students’ curiosity, expanding or augmenting curriculum to continue conversations on campus.

Kick-Start the School Year

During Back-to-Schooling September, we’re celebrating the return to learning all month long with special educational activities throughout the Aquarium, and free admission (and parking!) for classroom educators with proof of employment.

This is a chance for teachers at all levels to experience firsthand what would be in store for your students with a field trip, and how it connects with your curriculum.

Already planning to bring your students to the Aquarium? Explore our educational programs and let us help you set up your classroom’s next adventure.