Which programs should I pick?
Sarah Egner, Senior Vice President Program Services
Bringing a group of students to MarineLab? Hooray! Overwhelmed by the program choices? Read on!
How long do you have?? When choosing the programs you want your students to participate in during your stay at MarineLab, the length of time you stay with us is a big factor. We have a core program that is essentially required before incorporating our extended programs. Generally, we don’t add any of the extended programs unless a group is with us longer than 3 days.
Your students can see this IN PERSON - MarineLab Photo
Is money a factor? We understand that each group is working with different budgets. Start by looking at our scholarship program to see if you qualify. Additionally, substituting a land-based program (some of which include shore-based snorkeling) for a boat-based field trip will decrease program costs. Check out marine debris, for example. Even groups coming for only 2-3 days (who will be participating solely in our core programs) have options - we have a land-based mangrove program (still plenty of snorkeling!) and/or you can substitute the second reef trip for a land program (scientist snorkel anyone?)
Just some of the myriad of marine invertebrates that your students will see, whether they snorkel or not
Do you have advanced level students? Students returning for a 2nd or 3rd time? Each component of our core curriculum has an advanced option associated with it. For example, some of our high school or college groups choose to participate in our Advanced Seagrass Ecology program which incorporates conducting a seagrass survey and analyzing data in addition to our core seagrass eco discussion and snorkel. For groups staying longer than 3 days, we have an array of advanced program choices in our extended options.
Is citizen science important to you? Do you want your students to gain experience with marine science research tools and techniques? Every student is a budding marine biologist while they are at MarineLab but we also have program options specifically designed to incorporate citizen science programs and/or research tools/techniques.
Identifying phytoplankton that cause harmful algae blooms is one of our citizen science options.
Do you have specific standards you would like the program to be aligned with? All of our curriculum is aligned with state standards and Ocean Literacy principles. All of the linked lesson plan summaries accessible on our website list the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards, Ocean Literacy Principles, and, for some, the NGSS (work in progress..). If you are interested in standards from another state, just ask!
Overwhelmed because arranging the trip is time consuming enough and you simply don’t have the time to read through and decide on each program component? While some teachers prefer to pick and choose each component of their program, we understand that many teachers need us to simply provide the itinerary for them. We have standardized itineraries on our website you can choose from or, once we have your details (grade level, length of stay, etc.), we can develop an itinerary for you.
When in doubt, just send us an email or give us a call! We are confident we can provide the perfect program for your group of students!