Research has shown that:

• children familiar with a setting tend to learn more than those who are not (Balling and Falk, 1980₁; Wolins et al., 1992) ₂.
• orientation programs facilitate cognitive learning, especially when conducted by a teacher (Balling, Falk and Aronson, undated)₃.
• both cognitive and affective learning can be increased when teachers use structured activities before and/or after a visit to an aquarium to create a context for the experience and link it with classroom work (Finson and Enochs, 1987₄; Koran, Lehman, Shafer and Koran, 1983₅; Wolins et al., 1992₂).

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. The Aquarium is designed to follow the path of a watershed from the mountains to the sea. Aquatic habitats from each of these regions are represented. Across South Carolina’s regions, the habitats are ever changing. Each habitat has its own character that 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 postattention directing devices on learning from a “walk-through” museum exhibit. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 20, 341-346.

The basic characteristics of water (as described in the orientation video) in each of the major regions of South Carolina follow:

• Mountains: fast-moving fresh water; cold and highly oxygenated
• Piedmont
  • Rivers: fresh water containing sediment and often reddish-brown (due to Piedmont clays)
  • Reservoirs: still, deep water that can get very warm during the summer months
• Coastal Plain: slow-moving fresh water subject to tidal influence (although remaining strictly fresh water)
  • Brownwater rivers: full of silt and organic matter
  • Blackwater rivers: contain less sediment (than brownwater rivers) and water is stained black by tannins leached from leafy organic matter
• Coast: fresh water and mixtures of fresh and salt water
  • Salt marsh: great variation in salinity and temperature due to tidal influences
• Ocean: salt water

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