Traveling Teacher Programs
During these traveling teacher programs, Aquarium educators will bring our dynamic programs to your school!
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
- A maximum of 30 total people (students and teachers) can attend a program.
- Programs must be bookedat least 6-8 weeks in advance and must be prepaid at time of reservation.
- We reserve the right to change an in-person program to a virtual program based on the current state of the pandemic. We will notify you of any changes and will offer a refund if you do not wish to do the program virtually.
- Financial assistance is available! Click Here to Download our Group Financial-aid Form and either email it to reservations@maritimeaquarium.org or mail to: The Maritime Aquarium, 10 North Water Street, Norwalk, Connecticut 06854.
For questions or to book a program, please contact our Reservations Department at (203) 852-0700 extension 2206 between 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday or email reservations@maritimeaquarium.org.
Meet the Animals | PK- Grade 2 | 30 Minutes
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 and snails. 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.
House for Hermit Crab | PK- K | 45 Minutes
Hermit crab is outgrowing his shell and it’s time for a new home. Using Eric Carle’s classic story as motivation, students consider how animals use their habitat and other plants and animals to survive. Students meet and touch live crabs and mollusks, sorting and classifying them by size, shape and other attributes that promote early science skills.
A Way We Grow (formerly Life Cycles) | Grade 1 | 45 Minutes
Every animal changes during the course of its life, but some more than others. Students make discoveries about how animals grow by examining live animals and the shells, skulls, fur and other artifacts from animals as they grow. In this hands-on experience, students are introduced to different types of animals and sequence their life-cycle patterns as well as learning what young animals need from their parents to survive. They also assume the role of animal parents as they seek to protect their young.
Design-a-Seed Activity | Grade 2 | 60 Minutes
It’s tough for a little seed to get its start! Students examine local flora to discover the variety of ways flowering plants have developed to disperse their seeds. Students work together to design and build a seed, and to create their own dispersal story.
Shark Safari | Grade 3 | 60 Minutes
Sharks and rays are an incredibly diverse group of animals, representing all sorts of sizes, body shapes, and behaviors to suit the places and climates they’ve occupied over time. Students start off examining shark teeth, jaws, and models, feel the sandpapery texture of shark skin, and learn how superb adaptations have allowed sharks to survive for millions of years in a wide variety of ocean habitats.
Life Between the Tides | Grades 3 - 8 | 45 Minutes
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 will meet and touch different kinds of crabs, mollusks and gastropods and employ their observation skills to explain how these animals are adapted to the daily and seasonal changes in their environment.
- $170 for first or simultaneous; $120 for second and additional sequential. Additional travel fees may apply.
Stream Tables | Grade 4 | 90 Minutes
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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Traveling Teacher: $265 for first or simultaneous; $200 for second and additional sequential. Additional travel fees may apply.
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Standards: NGSS 4-ESS2-1, 4-ESS3-2
The Power of Plankton | Grade 5 | 60 Minutes
How do tiny microscopic organisms in the ocean affect us, other animals, and the earth? Students will survey a plankton sample collected from Long Island Sound and explore the numerous groups of organisms that drift with the currents. They’ll also use and create models to discover why they are so important to us and the living planet.
Climate and Crustaceans | Grade 6 | 60 Minutes
We know our climate has been changing. How does that affect animal populations in Long Island Sound? Students will look at environmental and population data to reveal the story of one of the northeast’s more famous denizens, the American Lobster.
Exploring Systems | Grades 7 & 8
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. Take each program separately, or combine them for a 90-minute lab. Fee charged for extra specimens.
Coasts that Shift & Change | High School | 60 Minutes
Following an introduction to the science of extreme weather and coastal change, students use an interactive “beach in a box” to model storm conditions and the effects of erosion on beaches and buildings. They then will test and evaluate different methods of making the coast more resilient.