School Field Trips

Explore the world’s lakes, rivers and oceans without getting your feet wet. See seahorses, corals, eels, sharks, turtles, piranha and hundreds of other aquatic animals. Touch stingrays and marine invertebrates in our Coastal Boardwalk Gallery, walk through a 175-foot-long seatube in the Shark Gallery and view seadragons in the historic building’s corridors. Enhances standards in life science and science inquiry. [75 min]

Biodiversity scavenger hunt available [Grades K-5].
Science inquiry discussion cards available [Grades 6-12].

Cost:

$8.95 per student
$14.95 per additional pre-reserved adult

We welcome program ideas from teachers! Contact Erin Carpenter at ecarpenter@greaterclevelandaquarium.com with suggestions.

After hearing the Eric Carle tale A House for Hermit Crab, an Aquarium tour reveals the real-life animals that inspired the Carle’s characters. You even have the opportunity to touch invertebrates like urchins, snails and sea stars. Enhances standards in life science, science inquiry, and language arts. [90 min]

Cost:

$7.95 per student
$14.95 per additional pre-reserved adult

Teacher Guide:

I See Sea Creatures Pre-K Teacher Guide

Explore your curiosity about sharks on this friendly ocean adventure. Walk through the seatube tunnel and view live sharks calmly swimming overhead. Listen to a shark story, create a shark craft to take home and learn why sharks are not as scary as they first appear. Enhances standards in life science and science inquiry. [60 min]

Cost:

$7.95 per student
$14.95 per additional pre-reserved adult

Find out what different animals need to survive on this Aquarium adventure. Investigate both freshwater and saltwater to discover how habitats provide animals with the food, water, shelter and oxygen they need. Compare pond and ocean habitats and identify key living and nonliving factors in these unique aquatic habitats. Enhances standards in life science and science inquiry.
[90 min]

Cost:

$8.95 per student
$14.95 per additional pre-reserved adult

Investigate how living things have adaptations to help them get oxygen, find food, use water and seek shelter. Discover why fish have whiskers, sharks and eels have sharp teeth, seahorses camouflage and turtles have shells. Learn which animals breathe with lungs and which breathe with gills. Observe hundreds of amazing animal adaptations on a scavenger hunt through aquatic habitats. Enhances standards in life science and science inquiry. [90 min]

Cost:

$8.95 per student
$14.95 per additional pre-reserved adult

Teacher Guide:

CSI Teacher Guide

Why do catfish have whiskers? Do sharks and stingrays have similar teeth? How can an octopus escape a predator? Find out how adaptations help prey survive and predators catch their meals. Explore what and how aquatic producers, herbivores, carnivores and omnivores eat. Discover how humans fit into the food chain too! Enhances standards in life science and science inquiry. [90 min]

Cost:

$8.95 per student
$14.95 per additional pre-reserved adult

Investigate sharks’ unique adaptations, learn the role that sharks play in marine ecosystems and discover why shark conversation is important. Come face-to-face with several species of shark and learn what they have in common with other aquatic creatures. Understand why sharks should be revered, not feared. Enhances standards in life science and science inquiry. [90 min]

Cost:

$8.95 per student
$14.95 per additional pre-reserved adult

Teacher Guide:

Fin-tastic Sharks Teacher Guide

Investigate how differences in aquatic environments affect animal life and identify unique adaptations that allow fish to thrive in different habitats. Discover how eels hide, why many sharks swim constantly and how catfish find food in murky water. Take notes in a student research notebook along the way. (Optional: Work in teams and build a fish to live in a specific habitat using the STEM model.) Enhances standards in life science, science inquiry and language arts.

• With build-a-fish option [2.5 hrs]
• Without build-a-fish option [90 min]

Cost:

$8.95 per student without build-a-fish option
$9.95 per student with build-a-fish option
$14.95 per additional pre-reserved adult (both options)

Sponsored by:

Become a shark savvy scientist by investigating the sharks and rays on exhibit and around the globe. Discover how sharks play a critical role in the ecosystem, how they differ from other fish and how they use unique adaptations, like specialized teeth and electroreception to survive. Find out how you and others can help with shark conservation. Enhances standards in life science and science inquiry. [90 min]

Cost:

$8.95 per student
$14.95 per additional pre-reserved adult

From the Great Lakes to the Atlantic coral reefs, the earth is full of diverse aquatic ecosystems. Collect data on biotic and abiotic factors like water temperature, salinity, plant life and aquatic animals, while observing how these components interact.  Discover how aquatic animals have adapted to survive in different habitats across the globe. Enhances standards in life science, science inquiry and social studies. [90 min]

Cost:

$8.95 per student
$14.95 per additional pre-reserved adult

Explore the connection between Cleveland’s industrial history and the water quality of the Cuyahoga River. During a water quality lab, test the river for dissolved oxygen, pH, phosphorus, nitrogen and turbidity. Investigate pollution sources such as farm and urban runoff before proposing a plan to further improve our river’s health. Enhances standards in life science, science inquiry, math and social studies. [2 hrs]

Cost:

$9.95 per student
$14.95 per additional pre-reserved adult

**Parts of this program take place outside; please dress for the weather.

Sponsored by:

Take an Aquarium tour to classify marine invertebrates according to body symmetry, ecological niches and other external characteristics. Then, dissect a squid to identify organ structure and function. Learn how these organs, tissues and cells help the squid survive in its habitat. Enhances standards in life science and science inquiry.
[90 min]

Cost:

$10.95 per student
$14.95 per additional pre-reserved adult

Explore the connection between Cleveland’s industrial past and water quality of the Cuyahoga River. Complete a water quality lab to determine turbidity, pH, dissolved oxygen, phosphate and nitrate levels. Analyze your data using graphs and compare your data to historic water quality trends. Tour the Aquarium’s galleries for a closer look at native aquatic species and discover why conservation of local water is so important. Enhances standards in biology, environmental science, science inquiry, math and social studies. [2 hrs]

Cost:

$9.95 per student
$14.95 per additional pre-reserved adult

**Parts of this program take place outside; please dress for the weather.

Sponsored by:

Take an in-depth, topic-focused guided tour of the Aquarium’s exhibits and galleries. Then, based on your selected package below, visit specific behind-the-scenes areas related to the chosen program. Enhances standards in biology, chemistry, environmental science and science inquiry. [100-110 min]

Cost:

$20 per student
$20 per additional pre-reserved adult

***Close-toed shoes are required in all behind-the-scenes areas.

Filtration & Water Quality [30-student maximum]
Discover how the nitrogen cycle is essential to fish health. Map the flow of water through our filtration systems and peek at the water quality lab to learn which parameters are monitored.

Enrichment & Animal Diets [30-student maximum]
Pop in to the Aquarium’s kitchen to learn about preparation of species’ diets, the daily work that goes into providing care for our animals and how animal enrichment differs for terrestrial and aquatic species.

SCUBA Science [20-student maximum]
Hear firsthand about a day in the life of an Aquarium diver and the captivating feeling of swimming and working alongside sharks. Talk SCUBA science with a member of the dive team.