Pre-Visit Activities : Introduction to the South Carolina Aquarium
K-Second Grade Online Curriculum : Habitats

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MAIN

Focus Question
What will you experience and learn at the South Carolina Aquarium?

Activity Synopsis
In preparation for a field trip to the South Carolina Aquarium, students are introduced to the facility through an orientation videotape.

Time Frame
2 hours

Key Terms

OBJECTIVES

The learner will be able to:

STANDARDS

No Standards Supported – Introduces students to the South Carolina Aquarium

BACKGROUND

Research has shown that:

Therefore, the South Carolina Aquarium requires that all students visiting the aquarium as part of a structured school program watch the South Carolina Aquarium orientation video prior to their visit. The video will introduce students to the main message of the aquarium, to the aquarium building and its inhabitants, and to the overall structure of their class visit.

The South Carolina Aquarium helps visitors to understand that from the mountains to the sea, each region of South Carolina is connected, yet distinct. Across South Carolina’s regions, the habitats are ever changing. Each habitat has its own character which is shaped by physical and biological conditions and by people, both past and present. The more that is known about each habitat, the better humans will be able to safeguard them and ensure that the habitats are managed in a balanced way. All of the plants, animals, and habitats that students will see at the aquarium can be found in South Carolina. By watching the orientation video, students can build prior knowledge of what the habitats they are visiting will be like. They will also have prior knowledge of what the Aquarium will be like, which will cut down on bewilderment, and increase the amount of time the students can spend focusing on learning.

Bibliography

  1. Balling, J.D., and Falk, J.H. (1980). A perspective on field trips: Environmental effects on learning. Curator, 23, 229-240.

  2. Wolins, I.S., Jensen, N., and Ulzheimer, R. (1992). Children’s memories of field trips: A qualitative study. Journal of Museum Education, 17(2), 17-27.

  3. Balling, J.D., Falk, J.H. and Aronson, R. (undated). Pretrip programs: An exploration of their effects on learning from a single-visit field trip to a zoological park. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institute, Office of Educational Research.

  4. Finson, K.D., and Enochs, L.G. (1987). Student attitudes toward science-technology-society resulting from a visit to a science-technology museum. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 24, 593-609.

  5. Koran, J.J. Jr., Lehman, J.R., Shafer, L.D., and Koran, M.L. (1983). The relative effects of pre- and post-attention directing devices on learning from a "walk-through" museum exhibit. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 20, 341-346.

PROCEDURES

Materials

Procedure
  1. Construct a KWL chart using the focus question "What is an Aquarium?".
    • Tell the students they will soon be going on a field trip to the South Carolina Aquarium. What is an aquarium? Why do people build aquariums? Who has been to the South Carolina Aquarium? What do you think you will see at there?
  2. Read a storybook to introduce the concept of an aquarium: Curious George Visits the Aquarium by H. A. Rey or My Visit to the Aquarium by Aliki.
  3. Show the orientation videotape of South Carolina Aquarium. Ask the students to raise their hands when the tape begins to talk about a habitat. Write the habitat names on the board.
  4. Following the tape, tell the students they are going to see these habitats at the South Carolina Aquarium and are going to go on a sensory hunt to learn more about the living and non-living things in a habitat. They will also be meeting some of the plants and animals that live in South Carolina habitats.

  5. Ask students to predict, using what they have learned in the previsit activities thus far, what each habitat will be like. What animals & plants will be found there?

  6. Using a map of South Carolina identify the general location of the five major regions/habitats of South Carolina (Mountains, Piedmont, Coastal Plain, Coast, Ocean).

  7. With student input, plan what the class will need to bring. Put the equipment into bags which chaperones will be responsible for (i.e. binoculars)

  8. Discuss Aquarium etiquette. Act out appropriate behaviors. As a class, create a list of aquarium rules.

  9. Create nametags as specified by the South Carolina Aquarium.

Follow-up question
In the book Curious George Visits the Aquarium, how could Curious George have improved his behavior? Were any of the animals misidentified? The animal called a seal in this book is actually a sea lion. Sea lions, unlike seals, make a barking noise, have very long front flippers, and are able to rotate their hind flippers up under their bodies (last characteristic conveys good locomotion on land).

ASSESSMENT

Review materials and pre-visit activities until students receive the full four points total.

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Cross-Curricular Extensions
Art Extension
Have each student create a drawing of an animal that he/she thinks the class will see at the aquarium or field site and write a few sentences about the animal. These pictures can be bound together as a class book. After returning from the aquarium, the class can look at the book to see if their predictions were accurate.

Social Studies Extension
Make copies of the Aquarium floor plans map from The South Carolina Aquarium Field Trip Planner for the students. Have the students examine the map to answer questions like, "Where is the Salt Marsh Aviary?" "What floor are the restrooms on?", to practice mapping skills.

K-2 Music extension by SCA Master teacher, Dale Ginn, Homeland Park Elementary School

RESOURCES
N/A