Clearwater Marine Aquarium - A Dolphin Tales Experience

For months my mom and dad had been planning a very special trip to take the children to Clearwater Marine Aquarium to see Hope and Winter from Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2.  She bought them the movies this past summer and they have watched them a few dozen times times.  Then we found the book Dolphin Tale 2 at a thrift store right before we left on our trip to Florida.  What a great find!  Plus, it has fit perfectly into our homeschool study of Swimming Creatures (Apologia).

My mom purchased the tickets before we found out military families receive free admittance, so you may want to read through their discounts carefully before purchasing.  Of course, buying tickets and donating to their mission to rescue and rehabilitate marine animals is not a bad thing.  

We visited on one of their busiest days of the year - Black Friday.  It was a little crazy and took some extra patience, but still very worth it!  We did get to experience Winter Wonderland and get pictures taken with Winter Claus.  There was also a Kids Zone on the third floor with Holiday crafts and activities.  

We were there for approximately 3.5 hours. Without the crowds you could probably see everything in an hour.  If you want to hit every presentation, read about all of the animals they have rescued, or book any animal interactions or tours then you can easily spend the entire day here.  We did go to several of the presentations including Dolphin Anatomy Game (very interactive and the kids got to participate), Resident Dolphin Talk, and Tail Talk.  We could definitely have spent more time viewing the ICU Hallway and Animal Hospital, but it was super packed when we walked through.  

Most of the presentations were on the Stranding Deck at Nicholas' pool.  Nicholas puts on a great show!

Nicholas had followed his sick mom onto shore when he was just a few months old.  He was rescued on Christmas Eve and suffered 3rd degree skin burns across 36% of this body.  Within 9 months the burns healed and he was nursed back to health, but because he was orphaned and did not have his mom to teach him how to hunt, echolocate, escape predators, and other skills necessary for survival, he has become a resident dolphin at Clearwater Marine Aquarium.  Nicholas is energitic so if you do not want to get splashed, do not sit in the first few rows on the bleachers!

Hope and Winter are the other two resident dolphins presently at Clearwater Marine Aquarium.  Winter became famous in the movie Dolphin Tale, but we were surprised to learn that there are many differences between the movie and true story.  

Winter was found stranded and entangled in a crab trap line, but she was only two months old and was found on the East coast of Florida in Mosquitto Lagoon near Cape Canaveral.  Hubbs-Seaworld Research Institute were the first responders because they were the closest, and she was then transported to Clearwater Marine Aquarium.  She did have extensive injuries which caused necrosis of her tail, but it naturally sloughed off and was not amputated.  She adapted and taught herself to swim.  She uses the prosthetic tail as part of her therapy.  She never minded the prosthetic as the movie portrays because the trainers desensitized her by slowly introducing it to her environment over several weeks and used positive reinforcement.  

Also, unlike portrayed in the movie, Hope and Winter were best friends from the start.  Hope was rescued when she was only 2-3 months old.  She loves playing with Winter.  You can watch them swim from above on the second level of the aquarium or from below at Shipwreck Alley.

On the first level of the aquarium you also have a great view of other underwater viewing tanks.  At Mavis's Rescue Hideaway you'll find several resident sea turtles.  Far more sea turtles than dolphins are rescued each year due to their susceptibility to boat strikes and fishing line entanglement. 

The fish and sea turtles seemed to come right over to say "hi".

I loved watching their faces and the look of wonder and discovery.  They probably could have spent the afternoon here sitting and watching.  

Mavis's Rescue Hideaway is also home to red fish, hogfish, and tarpon.

Around the corner is Stingray Beach.  Touching the stingrays was definitely a highlight!  Be sure to roll up the sleeves of your little ones before approaching 😉. There is another touch tank on the lower level where they were able to touch hermit crabs and view puffer fish.  

There are a few other exhibits and presentations, like Otter Oasis, Shark Pass, and Rufus Beach.  This small aquarium certainly abounds with learning opportunities and is an inspiration to many.  We bought the movie Winter which highlights her real Rescue and story of survival, as well as how she has become a life-changing role model.  

Gammy and Pop Pop also bought the girls best friends necklaces.  They are best buds just like Winter and Hope 💕 #CMAinspires

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US Space and Rocket Center

We rocketed til we dropped at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL.  

Thanks to their participation in the ASTC Passport Program, admission was free with our membership to our local children's museum (Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, AR).  Our little space monkeys arrived when the doors opened at 9am and had to be dragged out at closing at 5pm.  We were able to check a stroller out at the front desk (free, you just need to leave an ID), which helped our two year old hang in there and gave us a place to stuff our jackets and belongings.  There is plenty to do indoors, but you don't want to miss the outdoor exhibits so be sure to dress appropriately for the weather. It was a fun-filled day of education and learning.  

The featured exhibition during our visit was an interactive flight exhibition called Above and Beyond.  I don't know how frequently they change the featured exhibitions, but our kids could have spent all day in here! You have to pass back through this area when you exit the park, so you may want to limit the time you spend there at the start and return at the end of the day. Everything in this exhibition was hands on and interactive. One of the highlights was a computer simulation where you design and race your own aircraft. 

 

As you exit the featured exhibits, visitors over 50 pounds have the opportunity to climb Olympus Mons, the largest volcano on Mars and in the entire Solar System.  You can also take a ride on the HyperShip, a motion-based simulator.  We rode several times with different audiovisual presentations each time.  One trip took us through a black hole in space and another had us racing through an obstacle course.

As you walk through the space center there are lots of interactive learning modules for the children to enjoy.  

At the Science on Orbit exhibition you can explore a model of the International Space Station.  Before entering, a guide gave a short presentation on some of the research and experiments that are presently going on at the ISS.  The kids loved seeing how astronauts eat, exercise, sleep, work, and even go to the bathroom in space!  

As you exit to the Rocket Park the kids are sure to spy the Kids Cosmos Outdoor Park.  While older kids are riding the G-Force Simulator (our 7 and 8 year olds loved this ride) or Space Shot (none of our kids were tall enough to ride), little ones can burn off some energy and blast off on their own ride.  Our son loved blasting off, but was terrified of the bouncing on the way down.  At the first look of terror on his face the worker stopped the ride and asked him if he wanted to continue or get off (he chose to get off) and praised him for being so brave to try the ride.  I was thoroughly impressed with all of the staff at the center.  

Enjoy a stroll through Space Shuttle and Rocket Park.  The size of the shuttle and rockets are thoroughly impressive as you stand beside them.   

Kids can play (or cartwheel) on a Lunar crater and explore some military hardware before heading to Saturn V Hall.

We spent several hours exploring Saturn V Hall.  The tour of this hall was excellent.  With 6 kids we sometimes shy away from tours, but it was a great way to learn a lot of the history and information without taking time to read all the signs.  The kids were glued and fascinated, and learned quite a bit of random facts.  Did you know the lunar rover vehicle's wheels are made of woven piano wire?      

After the tour we went back through the hall to explore more - including the Skylab Training Module and Apollo 16 Command Module.  The Force was a neat attraction where you experience the power of the test firing of the five F-1 Saturn V engines, however smaller children might be frightened by the noise.  

Our little monkeys were excited to learn that the first space monkeys were named Able and Miss Baker 🐒

As soon as we left the kids were asking when we could come back!  Thank you US Space and Rocket Center for a fabulous field trip!!!

Visiting or staying in Huntsville, AL?  Check out my post on Monte Sano State Park  for more fun!  

Spring Scavenger Hunt (Free Printable)

Did you like my Winter Scavenger Hunt?  Then you'll love the new Spring Scavenger Hunt!  Spring is such a wonderful time of year to get outside, go for a walk, and explore God's creation.  Some days we will walk and see how many wildflowers we can find.

Other days we will hunt for signs of birds. 

Some days we will look for God's busy little creatures. 

So many learning opportunities surround us every day.  Use this free Spring Scavenger Hunt printable to excite your children to see how many wonderful things they can find outside today.

Don't forget to write about it in your nature journal.

Exploring on a blustery day! Have fun!

Plant Science - including Free Printables!

We had so much fun this week discovering how plants drink water!  The experiments are super fun and easy enough for the whole family to explore and learn together.

Experiment 1: Food Coloring Traveling Up a Celery Stalk
Fill a mason jar or glass half way with water strongly dyed with purple, red, or blue food coloring.  (We used separate mason jars so each child could make their own, but only 1 is needed.  As a variation, you could use several mason jars and add different color dye to each jar and predict what would happen).  Add 5 stalks (approximately the same size) to the jar.  After 3 hours remove one celery stalk from the jar.  Carefully peel around the edge (using a vegetable peeler if necessary) to see how far the dye has traveled up the “tubes”.  Draw your observations (use my free printable!).  Repeat at 6, 9, 24, and 48 hours.    

After 24-48 you should start to see the food coloring in the leaves.

Peel the stalk to observe the food coloring in the "tubes".

Experiment 2: Walking Water

Set you glasses up in a circle as shown in the photo below.  Fill every other jar halfway with water.  Add food coloring to dye one jar of water red, one yellow, and one blue.  Predict what will happen.  Roll each paper towel and drape them between the jars as shown.  Watch as the water walks up and over the paper towels into the other jar.  Depending on the absorbency of your paper towels, this experiment could take 20 minutes or several hours.  We started the experiment and watched for a few minutes, then went outside to play for a few hours.  When we came back in the children were all shouting, "Mommy, mommy, come see.  This is so cool!"  Record your observations on my free printable!

Set-up:

After 2 hours:

Don't forget to grab a copy of the Plant Science Experiment Sheets to record your predictions, observations, and conclusions!

Get Outside and Go on a Nature Scavenger Hunt (Free Printable)

Studies continue to show the tremendous benefits of being outside:
*Boost in Immune System
*Reduction Hyperactivity
*Increases Attention and Retention
*Improves Academic Performance
*Supports Creativity, Problem solving
*Promotes Cooperation (great way to encourage siblings to get along)
*Integrates the Senses

I see firsthand how getting outside has benefited our own family.  As we were hiking this past week near a creek our oldest daughter, who has a tendency to be anxious and unable to focus, remarked, "This is my happy place.  It's so relaxing!".

 Sitting quietly, listening, and distinguishing between various outdoor sounds has helped our five year old overcome some of her struggles with sensory and auditory processing.  Our son with speech delays comes out with new words and more organized phrases after every hike.  Since we have started intentionally spending more time outside and hiking, I have also noticed a decrease in stress levels and a boost in our immune systems. 

A fun way to get outside, explore, and learn is with a Nature Scavenger Hunt.  You can do these over and over again, as each adventure is new, exciting, and different.  A Scavenger Hunt is designed to help your child explore his or her surroundings using various senses.  You can download our FREE Look, Listen, and Feel Scavenger Hunt.  Students may want to snap picture of their finds or draw them in a nature journal.  

Often times our scavenger hunts lead to lots of excitement over one really neat find.  I love to build on opportunities to build more on that.  Recently we found a deer skull in the woods.  That lead to an afternoon of researching together what deer eat, why it was a good habitat for deer to live in, and what animals eat deer.  This lead to a whole other lesson of food chains.  

Days like this make homeschooling so delightful.  Schedule time to take advantage of the many benefits of "unstructured" learning outdoors.


Don't forget to grab your FREE DOWNLOAD!  

Nature Scavenger Hunt

 

Homeschooling at the Zoo - and a FREE DOWNLOAD!

We love heading to the zoo for a field trip!

*Fun for all ages

*Offers abundant learning opportunities

*Each experience is unique

*Purchasing an annual membership makes it an affordable option for large families

You can easily alter the experience to teach various grade levels and subjects.  Here are just a few ideas to help you brainstorm how to make your field trip to the zoo a memorable, enjoyable, and educational event.

Geography: Classify animals by native continents.  Study the habitats.  You can also practice your map reading skills if the zoo offers a map.

History: How were the animals used by humans throughout the ages? Meat? Clothing? Transportation? Tools? Weapons?

Science: Study and classify the animals.  How is each animal uniquely designed?  Where does the animal fall into the food chain? What kind of habitat does the animal live in and why?  We love The Complete Zoo Adventure: A Field Trip in a Book by Gary and Mary Parker.

Math: Graph your observations. Calculate how many pounds of food different animals would consume in a year.  Calculate how long it would take a particular animal to travel 1 mile.  For younger children, play "I Spy" with different colors, shapes, or patterns.

Phonics, Reading, and Writing: There are plenty of opportunities to read signs around the zoo or play "I Spy" a letter.  Find an animal that begins or ends with a particular letter.  We love to increase our vocabulary with flashcards from PBS Cubed, and pull out a few new cards before each trip to the zoo.  Do a word search or cross word puzzle.  Write down five new facts you learned.  Observe an animal and see how many adjectives you can come up with to describe the animal. Bring a journal and do some creative writing, such as "If I were a tiger..." or "Lost in Africa". 

Art - Sketch, draw, or paint an animal or habitat. 

Grab your free "I Spy" and "Monkey Observation" activity sheets below!

Turn the Monkey Observation into a long term project by comparing behavior in different seasons/weather, different times of day, or between different species of monkeys.  

Zoo Field Trip