FishTales Story Time
Time: 10:15 - 11 a.m. and 1:30 - 2:15 p.m.
Cost: Free
Fish Tales is an interactive storytime for toddlers and parents/caregivers. Sing songs and rhymes, dance and read books with Aquarium Educators, and maybe even meet an animal ambassador! Space is limited to the first 20 children. Parent/caregiver must be present.
Click Here to Register for 10:15 a.m. Story Time
Click Here to Register for 1:30 p.m. Story Time
Life Cycles
Time: 10:15 - 11 a.m.
Cost: $5 per person
Every animal changes during the course of its life, but some more than others. Students make discoveries about life cycles by examining live animals and the shells, cocoons and other artifacts they leave behind as they grow. In this hands-on experience, students are introduced to different types of animals and classify and sequence their life-cycle patterns. They also learn keywords related to life cycles, including egg, larva, adult and metamorphosis.
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Seed Engineering Lab
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Cost: $5 per person
After investigating our collection of local plants & seeds, students will predict how the seeds are dispersed and which structures allow them to fly, float, or hitch a ride. In an engineering activity, students will design and construct a seed equipped to travel. Finally, meet one of our animal ambassadors who’s species is a critical seed disperser in American forests and woodlands.
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Shark Safari
Time: 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Cost: $5 per person
Touching a live shark is a memorable experience. But that’s just one element of this exciting program. Students start off examining shark teeth and jaws, feel the sandpapery texture of shark skin, and learn how superb adaptations have allowed sharks to survive for millions of years. Then, your safari guide will lead students to the Aquarium’s Ocean Beyond the Sound exhibit for a close look at the 7-foot sand tiger sharks. The final stop is our Shark and Ray Touch Pool to safely touch small sharks and a variety of rays (cousins of sharks).
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Brine Shrimp Inquiry Lab
Time: 10:15 - 11:15 a.m.
Cost: $5 per person
Through a guided inquiry experiment, students take on the role of behavioral scientists as they investigate how brine shrimp respond to stimuli. Creating hypotheses, recording observations and deciding how to control variables, students engage in an experiment that emulates the scientific process. Afterward, students draw their own conclusions and present their results.
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Water Pollution
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Cost: $5 per person
Long Island Sound and its watershed provide a perfect opportunity to explore human impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Students share their knowledge about sources of pollution and then “pollute” a watershed model to demonstrate how pollutants travel and where they end up. They also discuss strategies for cleaning up the pollution that makes its way to the Sound, and identify ways everyone can contribute to that effort!
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Stream Table Investigation
Time: 1:30 - 3 p.m.
Cost: $5 per person
Geologist Charles Lyell is credited with the insight that water’s powerful ability to shape the landscapes we see today also caused major transformations over the course of Earth’s history. Using the Aquarium’s stream-table models, students conduct an inquiry to discover the role erosion and deposition play in creating rivers and landforms. Students create their own model to learn how natural and fabricated objects can affect these processes.
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Climate Change Lab
Time: 10:15 - 11:45 a.m.
Cost: $8 per person
During this hands-on lab, students will test the effects of climate change on Long Island Sound communities and animals, and dive into real-world solutions to one of the most pressing issues of our time. We'll bust some climate myths, clarify the relationship between climate and our daily weather, and investigate local, global and personal actions towards climate resilience.
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Career Panel Discussion
Time: 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Cost: $8 per person
Discover different career options available at an Aquarium through this interactive program. Career panelists represent careers from animal care to marketing to guest hospitality. Please come prepared with your questions for the presenters!
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Ocean Advocates
Time: 10:15 - 11:45 a.m.
Cost: $8 per person
Understanding ocean conservation issues is important in developing the next generation of leadership. Through reading and discussion of scientific literature and videos, participants will gain an understanding of how microplastics are impacting ocean ecosystems and causing large problems. They’ll meet some animal ambassadors directly impacted by microplastics and write love letters to the sea, asking leaders to make a change to policies relating to plastics and the environment.
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Seal Spotting & Birding Cruise - Must be 42" tall
Time: 9 - 11 a.m.
Cost: $20 per person
Study winter biodiversity, including plankton and migrating waterfowl, as you seek out some of the seals that winter in Long Island Sound. Learn about the seals and get a broad picture of how the Sound’s animal population changes in the winter, which animals swim or fly south, which burrow into the mud and which have adapted to the cold. Students will use scientific tools and instruments to measure weather and water chemistry. Binoculars provided.
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Oceanography Cruise - Must be 42" tall
Time: 1:15 - 3:15 p.m.
Cost: $20 per person
This unique cruise focuses on the physical aspects of the world’s oceans. Students collect and examine plankton samples to spark consideration of how phytoplankton and photosynthesis relate to Earth’s atmosphere. They take weather readings and sample water at different depths, gathering their own data on temperature, salinity and turbidity to contribute to a discussion of the role of the oceans as indicators of global climate change. And they learn how seemingly slight changes in ocean temperatures and currents drive changes in weather in marine and terrestrial environments worldwide. Disembark at the end of the program with data you have collected and ideas for analysis back in your classroom.
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Sleepover at the Aquarium
Time: March 13 at 6 p.m. to March 14 at 9:45 a.m.
Cost: $70 per person
Bunk down among the sharks, fish, jellies and other creatures as we host a fun family sleepover.
After check-in at 6 p.m. and a tasty dinner of chicken tenders, fries and penne, we'll fill your family's evening with a fun- and fact-filled behind-the-scenes tour of the Aquarium, snacks and crafts. "Lights out" is at 10:30 p.m. Participants sleep in sleeping bags (BYOSB) throughout the Aquarium galleries. Air mattresses are allowed for adults.
Breakfast in the morning is at 8:30 a.m., followed by a 9:00 IMAX film. You'll be on your way home by 9:45 a.m. on the 14th.
Our Family Overnight is open to children ages 5 and older, with an accompanying parent or caregiver over age 18. Please let us know of any dietary restrictions.
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