Marine Life Study Cruise - Must be 42" tall
Times: 9 - 11 a.m. or 1:15 - 3:15 p.m.
Cost: $15 per person
Study marine biodiversity from the water’s surface down to the bottom for a first-hand understanding of Long Island Sound’s interdependent marine life. Students utilize such sampling techniques as a plankton tow, biodredge and trawl net to bring up varieties of fish, crabs and mollusks – and maybe even squid, sea stars, shrimp and sharks. A videomicroscope (tied to a giant flat-screen monitor) and a touch tank right on the boat enhance observations.
Anyone under 16 years old must have a chaperone on the cruise. Chaperone are required to purchase a cruise ticket.
Click Here to Purchase Tickets to the 9 a.m. Cruise
Click Here to Purchase Tickets to the 1:15 p.m. Cruise
Meet The Animals
Time: 10:15 - 11 a.m.
Cost: $5 per person
Nothing sparks an interest in nature and science like an up-close meeting with live animals. An aquarium educator will introduce students to live crabs, snails and sea stars. Children will count their legs, describe their body shapes and explain how they feel. Finally, they’ll collect their ideas and observations on an “I Notice, I Wonder” chart.
Click Here to Register for Meet The Animals
Similarities & Differences
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Cost: $5 per person
How are members of the same group of animals similar and different from each other? Learning to classify living things is an important early-elementary science skill. Young students engage in up-close examinations of crabs, fish, turtles and mollusks. They use their senses of sight and touch to describe similarities and differences in shape, texture, color and more. There’s nothing like live animals to spark inquiry in young scientists!
Click Here to Register for Similarities & Differences
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).
Click Here to Register for Shark Safari
Squid Adaptations
Time: 10:15 - 11:15 a.m.
Cost: $5 per person
Among the most amazing and alien life forms on Earth, squid are endlessly fascinating. Students examine real squid specimens to locate and identify the body structures the creatures use for feeding, moving and protecting themselves. They use tweezers and hand lenses to find a squid’s ink sac, siphon, arms and tentacles, and also compare a squid’s adaptations to those of fish and jellies.
Click Here to Register for Squid Adaptations
Life Between the Tides - SOLD OUT
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Cost: $5 per person
Imagine living in a place that gets flooded every day! That’s the challenge faced by the amazing and resilient animals of Long Island Sound’s intertidal zone. Students read tide charts and learn how the moon influences the rise and fall of the tides. They meet and touch different kinds of crabs, mollusks and gastropods, use an age-appropriate field guide to identify them, and employ their observation skills to explain how these animals are adapted to the daily and seasonal changes in their environment.
Marine World Magnified
Time: 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Cost: $5 per person
As amazing as the marine world is to the naked eye, there are incredible plants and animals that can only be seen with special tools. Students use microscopes and hand lenses to observe different kinds of plankton and invertebrates, which may include barnacles, sea squirts, jellyfish larva, tunicates, brine shrimp and more. Then, they use math and language strategies to describe the scale of what they’ve seen.
Click Here to Register for Marine World Magnified
Exploring Systems
Time: 1:30 - 3 p.m.
Cost: $8 per person
What are the essential parts of the circulatory, respiratory and digestive systems? How do they work together to accomplish the body’s essential functions? In these comparative-anatomy programs, students are guided in a focused fish dissection. They think not only about how these systems operate in fish, but compare them to their analogous systems in humans.
Click Here to Register for Exploring Systems
Career Tour
Time: 10:15 - 11:15 a.m.
Cost: $5 per person
Explore off-exhibit areas as you learn about the many careers that are involved in making The Maritime Aquarium a great place for visitors as well as for the animals that live here. View the “Ocean Beyond the Sound” exhibit – with its 7-foot sharks – from above and visit our “Fish Kitchen” to learn how our aquarists meet the nutritional needs of more than 1,000 animals every day. Students not only learn about the behind-the-scenes operations of the Aquarium, but what they need to do to work with animals in a similar setting some day.
Click Here to Register for the Career Tour
Ocean Advocates
Time: 10:15 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Cost: $10 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 change to policies relating to plastics and the environment.
Click Here to Register for Ocean Advocates
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 Fish Tales: Story Time at 10:15 a.m.
Click Here to Register for Fish Tales: Story Time at 1:30 p.m.
Parent Information Meeting
Time: 12 - 12:30 p.m.
Cost: Free
Click Here to Register for the Parent Information Meeting