Students Connect to Local Phenomena with Marine Science Institute Inland Voyages: Mobile Aquarium

As we begin a new school year, teachers are starting to think about introducing their students to the wonder of the natural world that surrounds us.

Teachers throughout the Bay area are connecting students to the local phenomena of the San Francisco Bay without leaving their classrooms through Marine Science Institute's (MSI) Inland Voyage Program

"The Inland Voyage is easy, aligned with standards, comes to school, deals with environment in the Bay" - First Grade Teacher, Stanton Elementary

MSI's mission is to cultivate a responsibility for the natural environment and our human communities through interdisciplinary science education. MSI and teachers alike know that if students are given these hands-on opportunities to understand our world, then they will appreciate and love it, and will inspire the next generation of environmental stewards.

On a Rocky Intertidal Inland Voyage, students are invited to explore, touch and notice the structures of the various animals they observe and to think about how these physical adaptations are used for survival in the stressful habitat of the rocky shores. Addresses Disciplinary Core Idea LS1.A Structure and Function

Inland Voyages are 50 minute, hands-on programs delivered directly to the classroom by expert MSI Science Educators with MSI's mobile aquarium. Each program consists of two stations where students experience different activities focused on habitats or animals. Programs are aligned to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and teachers can access the NGSS-MSI Correlations Guides by Grade to connect their program with the Science and Engineering Practices, Diciplinary Core Ideas and Cross Cutting Concepts. Teachers can choose between seven different program options for their students: