Wildlife Conservation Center Aquarium 12^th Grade:

 

New York Aquarium Field Trip

Pre-visit: Student will have some knowledge on oceanography.

Aim: Students will understand the different interactions between organisms within the ocean and on the beach.

Vocabulary: geology, ocean, interaction, mollusk, echinoderm, pinopod, fluke, plankton.

Motivation: Students will be shown video of various forms of marine life. Predator prey interactions between organisms will be stressed. Permission slips and agenda will be distributed.

Development: students will be broken up into different groups, and visit all of the exhibits at the NYC aquarium. They will do an in-depth report and presentation of one of the following organisms.

Group 1-Sharks- the different species of sharks that are housed in the aquarium, their habitat in the wild? How they have evolved? predator / prey relationships, and their diets.

Group 2-The Grey Seal- their origin, habitat, predator/prey relationships, how do they stay insulated? What species do they belong to? and why are the called the true seal?
Group 3-The Fur Seal- Their features, habitat, predator/prey relationships, how do they stay insulated? Why do they swim up side own?

Group 4-The Sea Otter- which species do they belong to? What does the word otter Mean? Facts about their furs, what other species are they related to? Numbers left in wild and why were they almost extinct recently?

Group 5-The Walrus- which species do they belong to? Diet, their habitat, how they communicate? How do they stay insulated? Predator /prey relationships, what are the males and females called?

Post-visit: students will do an evaluation of all the exhibits visited. Students will give an in-depth presentation of their findings, to classmates and guests. Charts, pictures, graphs, models will be used in presentations.
Homework: Take a walk on Coney Island Beach, what evidence, if any, was found to show mans interaction with the ocean? How does this evidence impact marine life? (Be specific show evidence)