SeaAggie Field Trips

A Hands-On Marine Adventure for schools and groups offered at Texas A&M University Galveston Campus.

Field Trips: Educational Outreach

We are now taking Field Trip Requests for Spring 2023! We are currently booked for all Fall 2022 dates.

In addition to our summer adventures, we offer a variety of field trips and programs throughout the Fall and Spring semesters. There’s a lot to learn about marine life and many ways to go about doing so.

Programs: Field Trip Opportunities

Research Vessel Trip - R/V Earl Milan

Duration: 3 hours
Maximum # of participants: 24
Price: $830.00
Vessel Departure times: 8:30a.m. & 1:30p.m.

Duration: 2 hours
Maximum # of participants: 24
Price: $630.00
Vessel Departure times: 9:00 a.m. & 1:00p.m.
Students learn physical, chemical and biological oceanography aboard TAMUG’s 42-foot Research Vessel Earl L. Milan. Sort and identify finfish and shellfish from shrimp otter trawl Sieve mud sampled by a Ponar-type benthic grab for annelid worms and other bottom dwellers. Observe our local marine mammal - the bottlenose dolphin. Life jackets included. Trip includes a licensed captain, deckhand, and our
outreach biologist.

*An additional $270 will be charged for vessel trips on weekends.

Research Vessel Trip - R/V Trident

Duration: 3 hours
Maximum # of participants: 40
Price: $1035.00
Vessel Departure times: 8:30a.m. & 1:30p.m.

Duration: 2 hours
Maximum # of participants: 40
Price: $830.00
Vessel Departure times: 9:00a.m. & 1:300p.m.

Learn physical, chemical and biological oceanography aboard our 68-foot R/V Trident. Sample water quality for a handful of critical hydrographic parameters, e.g. water
temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and pH, and understand their impacts to estuary biota. Sieve mud
sampled by a Ponar-type benthic grab for annelid worms and other bottom-dwellers. Observe our local marine
mammal - the bottlenose dolphin. The R/V Trident is suitable for educational-based fishing trips to the Galveston Jetties and inshore bay sites proximate to our campus (definitely a 4-hour commitment). Life jackets included. Trip includes a licensed captain, deckhand and one to two outreach biologists.

*An additional $270 will be charged for vessel trips on weekends.

Salt Marsh and Estuarine Ecology Trip

Duration: 2 - 3 hours
Maximum # of students: 50
Price: $15.00 per student

Wade waist-deep into our local salt marsh getting wet and a little muddy. Seine for inch-long red drum, southern flounder, spotted seatrout and other finfish species too numerous to name. Capture brown shrimp, blue crabs, and sea snot! Learn of the Galveston estuary, its ecology and the critical functions of the Spartina salt marsh.

A closed-toe, lace-up tennis shoe, preferably two, is a must!

Sea Turtle Biology and Ecology Presentation

Duration: 1 hour
Maximum # of participants: 80
Price: $5.00 per student

Explore sea turtle biology and ecology. Learn the seven species of sea turtles, all of which are listed as threatened or endangered, and which of these species occur in the Gulf of Mexico. Discuss the differences and similarities between freshwater turtles and sea turtles.

Nesting Ecology can be added to the Sea Turtle Experience for $3 extra per student and would be an additional hour of activity.

Oyster Reef Exploration

Duration: 2 hours
Maximum # of participants: 80
Price: $5.00 per student

Activities offered include oyster reef ecology, oyster anatomy, oyster restoration, and microbiology related to oyster disease. Students will learn the importance of oyster reefs and get a hands on look while helping us evaluate the quality of our oyster restoration at Texas A&M Galveston Campus. Students will explore oysters and identify native & invasive species while exploring the oyster food chain in their oyster sample. These animals include oyster toad fish, boring sponge, clam worms, various species of crabs, and live oysters. Instruction and workshops planned for the center include invertebrate zoology, coastal plant and wetland ecology, pollution biology and coastal erosion.

Crabbing

Duration: 2 hours
Maximum # of participants: 40
Price: $10.00 per student

Activities offered include blue crab biology & crabbing for blue crabs. This field trip allows students to explore our wetlands at Texas A&M Galveston Campus while searching for crab species including blue crabs, lesser blue crabs, and green striped hermit crabs. Students will be provided bait and a net and instructed how to identify the different crab species. Instruction includes invertebrate zoology, coastal plant and wetland ecology, and invertebrate anatomy.

Students must wear closed toe shoes.

Shark Biology Presentation with Spiny Dogfish Dissections

Student Dissection: Students performing the dissection in groups of 6 students per 1 shark.

Duration: 2 hours
Maximum # of participants: 80
Price: $12.00 per student

Instructor Dissection: Sea Camp Instructor performing the dissection for students 15 students per 1 shark.

Duration: 2 hours
Maximum # of participants: 80
Price: $12.00 per student

Jump into shark-infested waters, figuratively, with this introduction to cartilaginous fishes. Learn the differences between sharks & rays and bony fishes. Hands-on instruction in characteristics distinguishing the more than 360 species of sharks to their eight orders including the bull shark, shortfin mako, horn shark and Atlantic nurse shark. Dissect a dogfish shark with your classmate including stomach contents, the shark.

Shark Biology Presentation without Dissections

Duration: 1 hour
Maximum # of participants: 80
Price: $5.00 per student

Peek inside TAMUG’s teaching collection of sharks and explore the differences between sharks and bony fishes including adaptations reflecting their ecological niches. Learn the differences between sharks & rays and bony fishes. Hands-on instruction in characteristics distinguishing the more than 360 species of sharks to their eight orders including the bull shark, shortfin mako, horn shark and Atlantic nurse shark.

Fish Biology Presentation with Bony Fish Dissections

Duration: 2 hours

Maximum # of participants: 80

Price: $5.00 per student

Examine a half-dozen fish species -all slimy-exploring their specific adaptations related to their habitat and feeding behaviors. Dissect a scaly critter to better understand its similarities, and differences, with ourselves and other vertebrates.

*fish printing may be added to this field trip

Campus Tours with Sea Camp

Duration: 1 hour

Maximum # of participants: 80

Price: $4.00 per student

Campus tours may be made in addition to a field trip program. We do not hold tours for groups who are not attending one of our educational programs. For 9-12th grade students, we suggest contacting admissions to REQUEST A TOUR.

Virtual Field Trips

$35 per hour of virtual classroom supplemental instruction for schools!

Are you an educator in need of supplemental instruction? Invite us into your classroom today! We’ll provide the science content while you learn along with your students! These virtual experiences include custom hour long virtual classroom supplemental instruction for schools. Created with K-12 educators in mind, our virtual classroom is designed to encourage students to learn and discover through STEM education. Paired with our FREE pre-recorded videos available on YouTube, students may explore the marine environment and have their questions answered or experience a custom program through Sea Camp.

Request a Virtual Field Trip today!

Subjects Include:

Sharks & Fish
Marine Mammals
Sea Turtles
Beach and Salt Marsh Plants
Marine Biology Careers
Oysters & Invertebrates
Conservation

*This program is not designed for individual students or families.

*Custom programs may be subject to additional cost.

Let's Get Started

Once you have chosen a field trip program right for your school, please send an email to seacamp@tamug.edu with the Field Trip Request form attached!

Field Trip Request Form | Field Trip Request Form

Frequently Asked Questions

Who will be our field guides/biologists?
Your field guides are students and former students at Texas A&M University at Galveston. Our staff includes knowledgeable and enthusiastic undergraduate and graduate students., and TAMUG Marine Biology graduates.

What are the requirements to participate in your field trips?
First, you must contact us to schedule your trip. After your trip is scheduled, you will receive waiver forms, field trip information, and we will get you set up in our payment system. A waiver for each participant must be completed and turned in on the day of the trip along with a roster of all participants. E-rosters of all attendees are required 1 week prior to your scheduled field trip. The responsible billing party will receive an invoice after the field trip has completed.

What items and clothes should our students and teachers bring and wear?
Uniform of the day is always a comfortable pair of lace-up tennis shoes that can take a trip into the salt
marsh. Tennis shoes or other closed-toe shoes are required in the labs for shark dissections, aboard
research vessels and for our campus tours. Change of clothes and shoes, beach towels, baseball caps,
cameras, sunscreen, and mosquito repellant are often recommended or essential items depending on your
field trip - campus tour activities.

Where can my group eat lunch?
Students may pack a lunch and we can provide an outdoor space (weather permitting) or a classroom to have lunch. Uniform of the day is always a comfortable pair of lace-up tennis shoes that can take a trip into the salt
marsh.

You may also request to eat in the on campus dining hall, however you must make arrangements with Sea Camp at least 1 week prior to your field trip. The dining hall is buffet style and teachers are responsible for the behavior of the students. The cost for 2022 are as follows $11.10 per person (with tax), 10.25 per person (without tax).

You may also order pizza for your students through our on campus dining hall. Prices vary depending on type of pizza and drink order, however you must make arrangements with Sea Camp at least 1 week prior to your field trip.

Directions: Texas A&M Galveston

Address: 1001 Texas Clipper Rd. Galveston, TX 77554

From I-45 South:
1. Take Exit IC toward Harborside Dr./Teichman Rd.
2. Turn LEFT at light onto Harborside Dr.
3. Drive 2.7 miles and turn LEFT onto Seawolf Pkwy.
4. Cross the bridge onto Pelican Island.
5. Continue through the student crosswalk.
6. Turn RIGHT at the Valero gas station onto Texas Clipper Road.
7. Continue straight on Texas Clipper Road and park in the parking lot in front of the Sea Aggie Center. Busses will
park in the back lot.
(All visitors excluding school busses must pay for visitor parking at the kiosks or via smartphone if staying on campus over 30 minutes)
8.Walk in to the glass doors and go straight

Download Campus Map