Sharks, Stingrays, and Crabs- Discover the diversity of crabs and cartilaginous fishes (sharks, rays, and skates) and design your own species and its habitat. Seine in the surf and search for sharks’ teeth at the beach. Try to catch cantankerous blue crabs. Compare bony fish anatomy to the anatomy of a shark during dissections, a slimy hands-on experience. Beach field trips. Fish dissections.

____________________________________________________________

Aqua-Marines...to the Rescue! - Aqua-Marine Rescuers are called to duty to get their feet wet and protect their marine friends. Junior scientists work to understand and protect the marine habitats of Galveston by participating in a wetland restoration project, exploring water chemistry, learning about ways to protect sea turtles and investigating methods for cleaning up oil spills. Join a competition for sand castle durability to demonstrate causes and possible prevention of sand erosion. Beach and salt marsh field trips.

____________________________________________________________

Marine Mammals - Enter the wonderful world of marine mammals, our hairy ocean friends & learn about flukes & flippers, baleen & blowholes, spy hopping & breaching. Compare dolphins & porpoises, seals & sea lions. Take a “close” look at the largest mammal on Earth, study the only aquatic bear, and get to know the clever sea otter. Marine mammal explorers will also learn how echolocation works and how to rescue a stranded animal. Beach trips and dolphin watching expedition. Appropriate for beginners and advanced explorers!

____________________________________________________________

Somethin’ Fishy’s Goin’ On- Advanced Workshop for ages 9 to 11. Catch cold-blooded creatures in a seine net and at the end of a pole. Set up aquariums with different habitats. Learn about fish, the most numerous vertebrates on the planet, while studying ichthyology on a grand scale. Learn to catch, clean, and cook fish. Beach and salt marsh field trips.

____________________________________________________________

Ancient Oceans - NEW!  Megalodon, Ichthyosaurs and Dunkleosteus...oh my! No really, OH MY!! Before dinosaurs roamed the Earth, marine reptiles ruled the seas. Enter the world of the paleontologist as you excavate a "dig" site, assemble the skeleton and attempt to recreate an image of a prehistoric marine reptile. Find out what the Earth looked like 65 - 100- and 250 million years ago. Investigate ancient food chains, learn how scientists classify this amazing group of creatures and find out what dinosaur breath and chalk have in common. This workshop includes a field trip to beach "dig" site and a feisty game of 'Cretaceous Seas Bingo'

____________________________________________________________

It's a Pirate's Life! - NEW! Ahoy me haarrty! Take a look back at the lives and times of pirates. Learn how they lived and how they navigated the ocean blue. Find out about Galveston's own legendary pirate, Jean Lafitte. Use a map and compass to discover the location of buried 'treasure' and how to create a map to your own hidden booty. Discover how scientists recover artifacts from sunken ships. Nautical archaeology and nautical science are major topics. This workshop includes a field trip to the Texas Seaport Museum and to the beach in search of buried treasure.

____________________________________________________________

Water Rocks and Waves Roll! - Discover the vast features of our amazing blue suede planet. Rockin’ “feet in” field studies and “hands on” investigations will be conducted to explore the geology, chemistry and physics of marine environments.   Twist and shout as you design a submarine, survey the ocean floor to discover how Tsunamis and volcanoes form and investigate what happens when water meets land. Hurricanes, tides and currents are just the tip of the iceberg in this workshop.  Beach and marsh field trips.

____________________________________________________________

Sharks, Sharks, and More Sharks - Advanced workshop for shark fans ages 9-11. Encounter myth and fact in this in-depth examination of the most fascinating and misunderstood fish in the ocean. The study will look at the anatomy, habitat, and eating habits of lots and lots of sharks: big sharks, little sharks, blue sharks, megamouth sharks and Ornate Wobbegones, Prehistoric sharks and sharks living in our very own bay. Pick your favorite shark and use our campus resources to do a comprehensive study. Beach field trip and shark dissection.

____________________________________________________________

The Ins & Outs of Invertebrates  - Advanced workshop for ages 9-11. Investigate the incredible world of marine invertebrates (our spineless but not gutless ocean friend). Bivalves, gastropods, cephalopods, crustaceans, and more will be examined in this workshop. Observe the mysterious world of the oyster community, taste and chart your favorite appetizing invertebrate (provided by Gaido's Restaurant), and write with real squid ink. This clammy workshop entails mollusk dissections, beach and salt marsh field trips, and a wacky eight - legged octopus race.

____________________________________________________________

Grand Sand and Swell Shells- Study marine life fossils and the stories they reveal of ancient oceans. Experiment with potato chips to discover what makes one shell stronger than another. Beachcombers will delight in this collecting workshop for junior naturalists. Beach field trips.

____________________________________________________________

Plankton, Nekton, and Benthos- Ocean lifestyles involve drifting (plankton), swimming (nekton), and hanging on or digging in (benthos). Trek along the beach and venture into the marsh to find living specimens of all three categories. Drag a bag seine and a plankton net. Dig for polychaetes and coquina clams. Eat “mud” and “worms” to learn about statistical samples and get greasy to find out how blubber works. Octopus, fish, whales and snails are all part of this workshop. Beach and salt marsh trips. Dissection of fish and mollusks.

____________________________________________________________

Ocean Artists- Link science and the arts while you sing songs and tell tales of oceangoing people, from whalers and pirates to whale scientists and nautical archaeologists. Practice marlinespike seamanship (tie knots with a sailor). Learn the Japanese art of Gyotaku, fish printing, with real fish. Enjoy this creative workshop of musical, theatrical, and visual art. Beach trip.

____________________________________________________________

Contact us: Sea Campus Kids, P.O. Box 1675, Galveston, TX 77553 

 (409) 740-4525  seacamp@tamug.edu