At Greater Cleveland Aquarium, we offer a variety of educational opportunities that provide inquiry-based, hands-on learning experiences.

#1: School Field Trips: Field trips enhance Ohio’s Learning Standards and Next Generation Science Standards for all ages, from preschool to college, with topics such as habitats, adaptations, food chains and conservation. Each program, led by Aquarium Educators, begins with a brief introduction to the topic. Students are placed in small group sizes, which provides them with the opportunity to ask questions and spend sufficient time exploring. Along with guided tours, we also offer lab classes covering topics such as squid dissection, water quality and urban birding, where students can participate in hands-on learning outside of the classroom.

#2: Homeschool Opportunities: The Aquarium also offers homeschool co-op classes with guided tours focused on topics similar to our school field trips. In addition, Homeschool Family Days provide an opportunity for families to enhance their homeschool journeys with self-guided scavenger hunts through the galleries using themed activity sheets curated for students of all ages. These programs are offered throughout the year, with each day featuring a different fun and educational topic. Throughout the experience, families can visit our educator-led stations for hands-on learning and participate in daily activities.

#3: Virtual Programs: In addition to in-person programs, we have virtual programs that allow larger groups to learn in the comfort of their home bases without the need to travel. These programs provide live educator-led tours throughout the Aquarium that enable participants to ask questions as they explore each gallery. These programs are customizable so organizers can choose their desired program length and topic, such as Animal Senses, Invertebrates, Camouflage or Wild, Weird & Creepy.

#4: Career Days: Middle school and high school students interested in pursuing careers in our field can register for our Middle School and High School Career Days, giving them the opportunity to meet real-life educators, guest experience staff, aquarists and divers while learning about the many fascinating jobs that keep an aquarium running. High school students can also learn about Aquarium team members’ career journeys, educational paths and tips on building resumes and preparing for college. Each program has its own specific, hands-on, interactive experiences related to the content throughout the day.

#5: Girl Scouts & Self-Guided Groups: Along with our Aquarium Educator-led tours, we also partner with Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio to offer badge-related programs. Registration, pricing and program descriptions are available on the council website and in the seasonal program guides here. In addition, we offer discounted admission rates for self-guided groups, including schools, summer camps, youth or adult groups. Self-guided groups are able to explore Aquarium galleries at their own pace with opportunities to participate in daily activities. We also welcome groups with special needs, and our building is wheelchair accessible. Accommodations, including a small comfort room, three reservable wheelchairs and KultureCity sensory bags are available.

If we’ve piqued your natural curiosity, visit greaterclevelandaquarium.com/education-field-trips/ for additional information or to schedule a program. Bring along your “school of students” to learn some fin-tastic facts while exploring aquatic habitats from around the world. We hope to “sea” you soon!

– Lindsay

With buses, lunches, permission slips and other details, it takes dedication and coordination to organize student field trips. We are thankful to teachers who coordinate this experience for their students every schoolyear. We asked seasoned educator Dan Dahnert to chat with us about what Aquarium field trips mean for his students and what keeps him returning year after year.

“I teach seventh- and eighth- grade science and math at St. Dominic School in Shaker Heights.  We started doing field trips to the Aquarium in May 2018 with the eighth-grade class for squid dissection and a tour.  The program offered at the Aquarium fits the Science curriculum very well and is an easy trip for schools around the city.  Each year, some of the students have never been to the Aquarium (which shocks me), and most of the other students have only been when they were a lot younger.

We usually dissect an earthworm or fish before the field trip to get them ready for the experience.  They react in many different ways to the squid dissection—some are all in, but some just want to leave the room because of the smell.  I encourage them to participate since they will be doing more labs like this in high school.  It is definitely a memorable experience for them; students who come back to visit St. Dominic update me on what they’ve dissected in high school and are appreciative of the opportunity to start in eighth grade.

The tour of the Aquarium [for this particular program] is self-guided, and we spend time talking about invasive species like the lionfish and the sea lampreys.  I enjoy seeing the piranhas since I had one for a while growing up (his name was Fang).  They seem to like the sharks the most, followed by the octopus, the stingrays and the gift shop.  Students get especially excited whenever there is a scuba diver in the shark habitat.

I try to take advantage of the teacher programs offered at the beginning of the year each year to visit for free and find out about any new programs.  It is easy to set up a field trip with the staff during the winter to prepare for the field trip later in the year.  I know the students will get a quality experience at the Aquarium each May.”

Dave Dahnert
St. Dominic School
Shaker Heights, OH

At Greater Cleveland Aquarium, we believe that nature is a curious thing. Students who take part in our education programs share this curiosity by asking questions about aquatic life, the environment and a variety of other topics. Below are the answers to seven questions commonly asked by students because you just might have been wondering about the same things!

1. Are poisonous and venomous animals the same thing?

Not quite! Poisonous animals secrete their toxin from their bodies, but venomous animals inject their toxin via a bite or a sting. Basically, if something’s poisonous, the toxin from it is ingested; if something’s venomous, its toxin is injected.

2. Why aren’t the sharks eating fish that swim in the same habitat as they do?

Sharks are generally opportunistic hunters and feed on fish that are injured, dying or dead as they are easier to catch. It is unlikely the sharks you see at the Aquarium would choose to expend energy to chase down a healthy fish. Also, sharks eat several large meals a month in the ocean. Here they are offered food three times a week. Why hunt for dinner when you have a meal waiting for you?

3. Aren’t the scuba divers frightened to be diving with sharks and worried they might be attacked?

No. While the divers are in the shark habitat, they respect the sharks by giving them their space. The sharks give the divers their space in return. While human-shark encounters do occur in the ocean, humans are not a shark’s natural prey. Sometimes if a human is on a surfboard, a shark can mistake them for a seal, but sharks do not intentionally hunt humans.

4. Is it safe to touch stingrays?

Yes, it is safe to touch the stingrays. Stingray barbs are used only for defense. We trim the barbs on the tails of the stingrays, which is similar to the way humans trim their nails. The touchpool is deep enough to allow stingrays to come to the surface or swim deep if they prefer not to be touched.

5. Why do I sometimes see a fish, turtle, stingray, etc. not moving?

Many of the species at the Aquarium have natural resting behaviors such as lying on habitat décor (i.e., plants, rocks, etc.), swimming in a stationary position and lying on the bottom of the habitat. Some species are also ambush predators, choosing to remain still until striking prey during a feed.

6. Where do all the animals at the Aquarium come from?

The animals come from industry approved facilities. Many are from other zoos or aquariums. Others, like the majority of the cownose stingrays and weedy seadragons, were born onsite.

7. Does the Aquarium have great white sharks?

No. Great white sharks do not thrive in aquarium settings, and no zoo or aquarium currently has this species. Great white sharks travel over thousands of miles over a year from tropical to cold temperate environments. Those conditions are not able to be replicated in an aquarium setting.

Visit the Greater Cleveland Aquarium during Back-To-Schooling September – Greater Cleveland Aquarium to ask any bubbling questions of your own!