6th-8th Grade

A Look Inside a Squid
Grades 6-12

How does a squid swim? Why does a squid ink?

The answers to these questions and many more can be found with a closer look inside the squid. This hands-on dissection program allows students to closely explore squid anatomy and discover the ins and outs of these interesting ocean animals.

• Supports Next Generation Science Standards:
  • Performance Expectations
    • MS-LS1-3. Use argument supported by evidence for how the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells
  • Disciplinary Core Ideas
    • LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms
    • LS1.D: Information Processing
    • LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity
  • Science and Engineering Practices
    • Asking Questions and Defining Problems
    • Engaging in Argument from Evidence
    • Analyzing and Interpreting Data
  • Cross Cutting Concepts
    • Patterns
    • Systems and System Models
    • Structure and Function
    • Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Animal Exploration
Grades PreK-12

Get your hands wet in this 30-minute, educator-led animal exploration class.

After a brief introduction, students will touch and explore live tidepool animals, animal models, and biofacts.

• Supports Next Generation Science Standards:
  • Science and Engineering Practices
    • Asking Questions and Defining Problems
    • Engaging in Argument from Evidence
  • Cross Cutting Concepts
    • Patterns

Aquacology
Grades 6-12

In this class your students will explore the world of aquariums and aquarium filtration.

By building their own aquarium systems complete with mechanical, biological, and chemical filtration, students will be introduced to the living and nonliving components that are needed to recreate natural ocean habitats.

• Supports Next Generation Science Standards:
  • Disciplinary Core Ideas
    • LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
    • PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life
    • ETS1.C: Optimizing the Design Solution
  • Science and Engineering Practices
    • Asking Questions and Defining Problems
    • Engaging in Argument from Evidence
    • Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
  • Cross Cutting Concepts
    • Patterns
    • Systems and System Models
    • Structure and Function
    • Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

Conservation in Action
Grades 6-12

Be a conservation biologist while exploring efforts to conserve endangered Southern California wildlife most threatened by climate change.

In this class, learners will collaborate to design solutions for raising and releasing endangered species. Students will build a 3-D model to visualize and evaluate their ideas using real-world considerations and conservation plans currently in action.

• Supports Next Generation Science Standards:
  • Performance Expectations
    • MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
    • o HS-ETS1-3. Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
  • Science and Engineering Practices
    • Asking Questions and Defining Problems
    • Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
    • Engaging in Argument from Evidences
    • Developing and Using Models
  • Disciplinary Core Ideas
    • SS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems
    • LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
    • LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience
    • LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans
    • ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions
  • Cross Cutting Concepts
    • Patterns
    • Stability and Change
    • Science is a Human Endeavor

Kelp Forest Conservation
Grades 6-12

Kelp Forests are a unique and productive habitat local to Southern California, but are also one of the most threatened by climate change.

Students will learn about the kelp forest ecosystem, why it’s important, threats, and ways we are helping these habitats recover.

• Supports Next Generation Science Standards:
  • Performance Expectations
    • MS-ESS3-4 Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s systems.
    • MS-LS1-6. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.
    • MS-LS2-3. Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
    • MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations
    • HS-LS2-6. Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.
  • Science and Engineering Practices
    • Asking Questions
    • Analyzing and interpreting data
    • Constructing explanations
    • Engaging in Argument from Evidence
  • Disciplinary Core Ideas
    • SS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems
    • LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
    • LS2.B: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
    • LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience
  • Cross Cutting Concepts
    • Patterns
    • Cause and Effect
    • Stability and Change

Mysteries of the Deep
Grades 6-8

Prepare yourself for one of the most spectacular light shows on earth.

Don’t look up into the night sky; look down to the depths of the dark, deep sea. Despite the crushing pressure, freezing temperatures, and endless darkness, the deep sea is full of life and light. During this class, students will investigate hydrothermal vents, experiment with pressure, experience bioluminescent sea fireflies, and explore the challenges of life in the deep sea.

• Supports Next Generation Science Standards:
  • Performance Expectations
    • MS-LS2-2. Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
  • Disciplinary Core Ideas
    • LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
    • LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience
    • PS4.A: Wave Properties
    • PS4.B: Electromagnetic Radiation
  • Science and Engineering Practices
    • Asking Questions and Defining Problems
    • Engaging in Argument from Evidence
    • Analyzing and interpreting data
  • Cross Cutting Concepts
    • Patterns
    • Systems and System Models
    • Structure and Function

Plankton Lab
Grades 3-8

Join us as we discover the fascinating world of plankton, the microscopic creatures of the ocean.

Through microscope exploration and hands-on activities, learners will reveal the diversity and importance of these organisms to ocean food webs.

• Supports Next Generation Science Standards:
  • Performance Expectations
    • 3-LS4-3. Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all
    • 4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
    • • MS-LS2-2. Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
  • Disciplinary Core Ideas
    • LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms
    • LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
  • Science and Engineering Practices
    • Asking Questions and Defining Problems
    • Engaging in Argument from Evidence
    • Analyzing and Interpreting Data
    • Developing and Using Models
  • Cross Cutting Concepts
    • Patterns
    • Structure and Function

Predator!
Grades 3-8

Ocean predators come in all shapes and sizes and use special adaptations for hunting.

Learners will use hands-on activities to investigate a variety of predators and their important roles in ocean food webs.

• Supports Next Generation Science Standards:
  • Performance Expectations
    • 3-LS4-3. Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all
    • 4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
    • MS-LS2-2. Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
    • MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations
  • Disciplinary Core Ideas
    • LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms
    • LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
  • Science and Engineering Practices
    • Asking Questions and Defining Problems
    • Engaging in Argument from Evidence
    • Analyzing and Interpreting Data
    • Developing and Using Models
  • Cross Cutting Concepts
    • Patterns
    • Structure and Function

Discover Earth
Grades 3-12

Take a new look at the water, weather, continents, currents, tsunamis, and hurricanes that make our Earth a dynamic system.

With an Aquarium educator as a guide, your students will explore beautiful visualizations on the Aquarium’s six-foot spherical display called Science on a Sphere. Discover the wonders of our instrumented earth and the information we can use to learn more about our planet.

• Supports Next Generation Science Standards:
  • Performance Expectations
    • MS-ESS2-5. Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses result in changes in weather conditions.
    • MS-ESS2-6. Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates.
  • Science and Engineering Practices
    • Asking Questions and Defining Problems
    • Analyzing and Interpreting Data
    • Engaging in Argument from Evidence
  • Cross Cutting Concepts
    • Analyzing and Interpreting Data
    • Cause and Effect

Downloadable Classroom Kits

• Think Like a Scientist
• Kelp Forest Habitat
• Kelp Forest Conservation
• Career Connections Video Series