In this program, the book The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler is used to explore fact and fiction about whales. Students use microscopes to examine plankton and krill as they learn about the diets of marine mammals, sort mammal and non-mammal artifacts, listen to whale sounds, and observe fascinating whale “hitchhikers.” Students learn the characteristics of mammals. They observe, identify, and then sort a variety of animal artifacts and replicas into mammal and non-mammal categories. The mammals are then sorted further into land (terrestrial) and marine mammal categories. Students learn about life cycles, discovering that some plankton are larval forms of animals they know, such as sea stars, lobsters, and snails. Students also learn about whales’ communication and echolocation abilities, using tuning forks and hydrophones to experiment with sound waves and sound production, and viewing video and sound clips of whales.
Date: Wednesday, May 20th | 9:30 am-10:30 am
Cost: $15 per student with learning funds
Grade(s): K-4; Due to limited space, this field trip is for Epic students only.
Address: Ocean Institute
24200 Dana Point Harbor Drive
Dana Point, CA 92629 *Students are responsible for transportation to and from the venue.
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