Connect2Texas
Texas State Aquarium
The mission of the Texas State Aquarium is to engage people with animals, inspire appreciation for our seas, and support wildlife conservation. Enjoy the charismatic animals of the Texas State Aquarium LIVE in your classroom! The Aquavision Flint Hills Resources Distance Learning Studio provides access to our animals and professionals through web-based videoconferencing technology. Aligned with the Texas Education Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), Aquavision lets teachers add high-quality programming to their units without leaving the classroom.
Any program may be requested at your preferred date/time by contacting aquavision@txstateaq.org or (361)881-1203.
To view scheduled programs go to Connect2Texas and select Texas State Aquarium from the program filter.
Coral Reef Under Construction
Grades: 3-5
Cost: $125
Length: 50 minutes
Coral reefs are referred to as the “tropical rainforests of the ocean.” Join us on a journey into this valuable habitat as we investigate the diversity of corals, learn their anatomy, and compare and contrast the differences between soft and hard corals. Students will apply their new learning when they construct and name their very own coral creations!
Dancing Dolphins
Grades: Prek-2
Cost: $85
Length: 30 minutes
Join us as we learn how to move and talk like a dolphin! Get your students up and moving as they study the adaptations and body parts these mammals use to swim and survive in the ocean. Students will also discover how dolphins communicate using distinct clicks and whistles, and visit our Atlantic bottlenose dolphins through our real-time view into Dolphin Bay.
Fishy Friends
Grades: PreK-2
Cost: $85
Length: 30 minutes
Let’s talk fishes LIVE from the Texas State Aquarium as your students observe and compare and contrast the diversity of fishes in Aquarium habitats. Together, we’ll distinguish between fish body shapes, infer how shapes help them survive and thrive in their habitats, and create a special fish drawing.
Flamingos Laboratory
Grades: 6-8
Cost: $125
Length: 50 minutes
Journey into the Caribbean jungle to discover these vibrant birds! Using distance learning, inquiry-based interactions, and student-driven exploration, we discover how the Caribbean flamingos use their unique adaptions to stand out from all other birds living in Texas State Aquarium and our world. Students will virtually explore the Caribbean Flamingo exhibit while taking detailed observations and making logical inferences about flamingos, their behaviors, and their habitat.
Habitats of the Gulf of Mexico
Grades: Prek-2 or 3-12
Cost: $125
Length: 50 minutes
The Gulf of Mexico is a dynamic and diverse ecosystem that supports a wide range of life. During this interactive tour, explore a variety of environments through our real-time cameras from the comforts of your own classroom. Make observations, predictions and comparisons of the inhabitants and their adaptations for survival in Gulf habitats.
Keeper Chat
Grades: 6-12
Cost: $60
Length: 30 minutes
Join the interactive discussion and get your questions answered at our Keeper Chats. Talk with our expert animal care staff members to get a first-hand account of their daily duties and meet one of our animal ambassadors.
Let's Talk Sharks!
Grades: 3-5
Cost: $125
Length: 50 minutes
Student’s will observe shark biofacts and explore how a shark’s skeleton, jaws, teeth, skin, and camouflage make them top predators. We will look at common shark species in the Gulf of Mexico as well as sand tiger sharks live from the Texas State Aquarium. Discuss why shark conservation is important and what scientists are doing to conserve these mysterious animals.
Meet Our Otters!
Grades: PreK-2
Cost: $85
Length: 30 minutes
Meet Arrie and Merlin, our North American River Otters in Texas State Aquarium’s Otter Creek habitat. Learn first-hand how an otter keeps warm and navigates through murky waters, by dressing like an otter and constructing your own set of whiskers to mimic their amazing adaptations. View Arrie and Merlin live, and see what other adaptations help them thrive in their environment.
Read With Us Wednesday: Baby Alligator
Grades: Prek-2
Cost: $60
Length: 30 minutes
Your students will enjoy an animal themed story and virtually meet the superstar animal of the book. Read along, make observations, recall facts, and get an up-close look at a live baby alligator.
Read With Us Wednesday: Sea Turtles
Grades: Prek-2
Cost: $60
Length: 30 minutes
Your students will enjoy an animal themed story and then virtually meet the superstar animal of the book. Read along, make animal observations, recall facts, and investigate biofacts. Students will observe sea turtle biofacts, and get an up-close look at our resident sea turtles through real time cameras.
Read With Us Wednesday: Sharks
Grades: Prek-2
Cost: $60
Length: 30 minutes
Your students will enjoy an animal themed story and then virtually meet the superstar animal of the book. Read along, make animal observations, recall facts, and investigate shark biofacts. Get an up-close look at our resident sharks though real time cameras, and identify threats to these ocean hunters.
Turtle Tracks
Grades: 3-5
Cost: $125
Length: 50 minutes
Students become marine biologists as they track Tammy, a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle, on her journey across the Gulf of Mexico. During their sea turtle study, students discuss why scientists track sea turtles and what technology they use. Student will read aloud and plot Tammy’s migration path, hypothesize why she may have traveled to different locations, and identify potential threats encountered in the Gulf of Mexico waters.
Virtual Zoology Lab: Caribbean Sea
Grades: 3-5
Cost: $60
Length: 30 minutes
Swimming in schools or swimming alone, many types of fishes are found in the Caribbean Sea habitat at the Texas State Aquarium. Use your STEM process skills of observation, data collection, and communication to study one group of fish and teach others about it.
Virtual Zoology Lab: Flamingos
Grades: K-2 or 3-5
Cost: $60
Length: 30 minutes
Long legs, long necks, pink bodies… you guessed it, Flamingos! Use your STEM process skills to observe and discover flamingo adaptations and behaviors.
Virtual Zoology Lab: Nearshore
Grades: 3-5
Cost: $60
Length: 30 minutes
Strolling along the seashore will take on new meaning as you discover the residents of nearshore habitats. Practice your STEM process skills of observation, data collection, science writing, and communication to tell the story of the seaside habitats.
Virtual Zoology Lab: Sea Turtles
Grades: K-2
Cost: $60
Length: 30 minutes
Shells on their backs, live in water, and move slowly… you guessed it, sea turtles! In this Zoology Lab you will observe, collect data, and communicate what you have learned from the sea turtles themselves.
Virtual Zoology Lab: Sharks
Grades: K-2
Cost: $60
Length: 30 minutes
Long bodies, sharp teeth, and a top predator… you guessed it sharks! Join us in the Virtual Shark Zoology Lab to discover how sharks move, what their teeth are like, and the parts that make up their bodies. Your students will practice important STEM process skills by observing and describing real live sharks, collecting data and communicating what they learned from sharks in Texas State Aquarium habitats.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the contributing members of Connect2Texas and do not necessarily represent the views of the Education Service Center Region 11. While some content is deemed appropriate for various curriculum standards used by viewers nationwide, most content providers make an effort to tie their content to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
Connect2Texas
Email: c2tx@esc11.net
Website: www.connect2texas.net
Location: Fort Worth, TX, United States
Phone: 817-740-7516
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Connect2Texas/178380812237957
Twitter: @connect2texas