School-Aged Programs and Tours for Groups
The Marine Mammal Center is a wonderful field trip destination for schools and organized community groups such as scouts, camps, and after-school programs. Enhance your curriculum with an interactive program in our marine science classroom and/or a guided tour of our hospital facility. All Classroom programs and tours feature a theme for different grade levels (from preschool through college).
It is best if you make a reservation several months in advance as our schedule fills quickly. Please read the general information below and the grade level descriptions of programs and tours before making a reservation.
The Center is located in the beautiful Marin Headlands, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Please see the right sidebar for our recommendations of other places to go while you are in the Marin Headlands.
General Information
Our Classroom Programs and Tours:
- Support the California State Science Standards at specific grade levels
- Include unique activities, plus hands-on exploration with pelts and skulls
- Are one-hour long
- Are designed to stand alone or can be combined for two hours of instruction
- Highlight our work with seal and sea lion patients
Classroom Programs take place indoors and do not include a tour. Tours occur outside with some protection from the weather. Tours are led by our instructors through the public areas of the Center's state-of-the-art hospital facility. Students view the food preparation room, chart room, the lab and animal pools and pens, and possibly see seal and sea lion patients as well as staff and volunteers at work.
Please Note: This is a hospital; the number and species of patients on view varies from season to season. Not all animal patients are in public view.
Group size:
- Up to 35 people, including chaperones
- Suggestion for Two Groups - We recommend the Tour/Class Combo for both groups at the same time. During the first hour, one group participates in a classroom program while the other group is on the tour; then in the second hour the groups switch.
Rates*/Length:
(All rates are subject to change without notice.)
- Classroom Programs are $130 and last one hour
- Tours are $130 and last one hour
- A Tour/Class Combo is discounted to $225, when you book both a classroom program and tour for the same group on the same day.
- Research Discovery Day is $420 and lasts four hours (for high schools and colleges)
- Payment is due one month before your scheduled program or tour date
Available Days and Times:
Mondays to Saturdays and possible Sundays on request:
10:00 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:45 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Description of Tours and Classroom Programs by Grade
Quick Chart: Click on the grade level to read the detailed descriptions and go to the Reservation Request Form.
|
GRADE |
CLASSROOM PROGRAMS |
TOURS |
| Grades K to 1st |
|
What Marine Mammals Eat |
| Grades 2nd to 3rd |
|
Marine Mammal Babies |
| Grades 4th to 5th |
|
Seals, Sea Lions, and Sustenance |
| Grades 6th and up |
|
Vet Detective |
| High School and College |
|
Vet Detective |
| All Grades |
|
Pinnipeds Patients |
Reservation Information
Please fill out the Reservation Request Form after reading the Description of Tours and Classroom Programs by Grade using the Quick Chart below. You will receive a reply by phone or email within two weeks of your request. Once we confirm your reservation request, you will receive a confirmation packet and invoice by email or mail. We require payment or receipt of a purchase order one month before your scheduled tour/program date.
Grades K to 1st
Comparing Mammals: Land and Sea
Classroom Program
Engaging activities, video clips, and fascinating specimens help students compare land and marine mammals. They look for similarities and differences in harbor seals and humans and explore how both move, eat, and keep warm. The instructor dresses up a student volunteer to adapt them for life in an ocean habitat and prepares a toy seal for life on land. Students visit touch stations in which they compare the features of different marine mammals, study pelts and skulls (teeth), and review ways in which they can help protect ocean habitats.
What Marine Mammals Eat
Tour
From fish milkshakes to food chains, students explore marine mammal eating habits. As they view the fish kitchen, animal pens, and other hospital facilities, students consider what marine mammals eat and the importance of getting enough food. Comparing a deer and harbor seal skulls helps students understand how tooth shape reveals what animals eat. Simulated tube feeding and rescue demonstrations bring the Center's animal care functions to life.
Frequently Asked Questions | Reservation Request Form | Back to Chart
Grades 2nd to 3rd
Elephant Seals: Pup to Adult
Classroom Program
Through an engaging series of discussions, video clips, short activities, and examination of specimens, students track the life cycle of the elephant seal throughout the year. They learn when the animals come ashore for breeding and molting and how the seals live and hunt in the open ocean for months at a time. Special attention is paid to pups and weaners, and students try to "beat the odds" as they act out elephant seal pups facing the challenges of their first year on land and at sea.
Marine Mammal Babies
Tour
There's a huge difference between an adult male elephant seal and an elephant seal pup - about two tons worth of difference! As students tour and learn how the hospital functions, they explore the special needs of The Marine Mammal Center's youngest patients. Patient stories, feeding demos, and seal pelts are among the tools used to help students understand how marine mammal babies compare to their parents.
Frequently Asked Questions | Reservation Request Form | Back to Chart
Grades 4th to 5th
Moving Up the Food Chain
Classroom Program
Students explore the ocean food web and review the roles of producers and consumers. They participate in a simulation that demonstrates how toxins introduced into the food system can become magnified in species further up the food chain (which they relate to domoic acid poisoning, a natural toxin afflicting sea lions). During a second simulation activity, students analyze the effects on animals of ingesting trash (which often looks like food to marine mammals). Stories of successfully rehabilitated patients enhance students' understanding that human actions can both harm and help marine mammals.
Seals, Sea lions, and Sustenance
Tour
As students tour the hospital facility, they look at exhibits and animals to compare seals and sea lions and learn how to tell them apart. They hear stories of past patients, examine pelts, and discover differences in the structures, behaviors and habitats of the harbor seals and California sea lions. Students also explore the roles these pinnipeds play in the local ocean food web and how trash in the ocean can endanger these animals.
Frequently Asked Questions | Reservation Request Form | Back to Chart
Grades 6th and up
Adventures in Anatomy
Classroom Program
Humans and marine mammals share many similar anatomical characteristics, yet they have adapted over time to thrive in different environments. Students work in small groups to compare and contrast bones, skulls, and other body parts of seals, sea lions, sea otters, manatees, whales, and humans. They also assemble a pygmy whale skeleton.
Marine Mammal Exploration
Classroom Program
Students rotate through five stations, working together to explore the adaptations and features of different marine mammals and formulate ways to reduce threats to marine environments. Students compare pelts and skulls, plus examine baleen and teeth. They study structures and behaviors that help mammals keep warm in the cold ocean and assess common reasons that seals and sea lions are admitted to The Marine Mammal Center.
Vet Detective | Marine Mammal Case Studies and Observations
Tour
This tour gives older students a hands-on approach to learning about our rescue techniques, rehabilitation process and research projects. Using case studies, students learn how to diagnose patients based on lab results and observations. They will discover the common problems and diseases found in our seal and sea lion patients.
Frequently Asked Questions | Reservation Request Form | Back to Chart
High School and College
Research Discovery Day
Classroom Program and Tour
This program gives older students an in-depth look at The Marine Mammal Center's research and veterinary science techniques. Students receive a comprehensive tour of our state-of-the-art facility, discovering how the pools are designed to accommodate animals' different structures, and see where thousands of gallons of salt water is cleaned and circulates from filtration tanks via pumps back to patients' pools. They learn how volunteers prepare food for the animals and feed them. In the post-mortem and clinical lab, they see where we collect and examine samples, exploring the causes of illness and injury of our patients. Video clips enhance their understanding of animal husbandry procedures. Students rotate through five research stations: skull morphology, telemetry, radiology, hematology, and parasitology. Students have the opportunity to examine skulls and x-rays and practice using tracking technology to get a better understanding of the work of a marine biologist.
Vet Detective | Marine Mammal Case Studies and Observations
Tour
This tour gives older students a hands-on approach to learning about our rescue techniques, rehabilitation process and research projects. Using case studies, students learn how to diagnose patients based on lab results and observations. They will discover the common problems and diseases found in our seal and sea lion patients.
Frequently Asked Questions | Reservation Request Form | Back to Chart
All Grades
3 Rs for Marine Mammals
Classroom Program
Enter our marine science classroom and be surrounded by exciting marine mammal specimens. This program gives participants an in-depth look at the work of The Marine Mammal Center. Students learn about the tools and techniques used by the veterinarians and volunteers to care for our patients - from Rescue, to Rehabilitation, and Release. Video clips of an actual rescue, animal care and handling procedures, and a release, allow students to "experience" the sides of our work that they are not able to see on a tour. Using a seal model, they see a demonstration of tube feeding and restraint procedures; and using hands-on specimens, they explore the differences between seals, sea lions, and otters. Students examine x-ray images and marine debris entanglements (trash) that were removed from former patients in order to understand how connected our lives are to these intelligent creatures of the sea. Our goal is that by sharing the amazing stories of our patients, your group will become more informed ocean stewards.
Marine Mammals of California
Classroom Program
Learn about the most common marine mammals that frequent the California coast. Grades 1st to 5th enjoy a PowerPoint presentation that highlights recent patients at our hospital and take part in an identification game. Pre-K and Kindergarten classes enjoy age appropriate activities to learn about seals, sea lions, sea otters, and whales. All grades touch real specimens and participate in a rope-length activity that demonstrates the various sizes of marine mammals.
Ocean Ambassadors (2nd and up)
Classroom Program
Got trash? Our oceans sure do! Students learn how trash travels through watersheds to the ocean, and hear stories about marine mammals we have rescued that were impacted by trash. We'll discuss simple actions to reduce our trash footprint, encouraging students to become Ocean Ambassadors. Younger students learn about the characteristics of marine mammals and how difficult it is for them to survive amongs the trash. Older students learn about bioaccumulation, decomposition and the importance of a healthy ocean ecosystem for all life on earth.
Pinniped Patients
Tour
Pinniped means "flipper footed" and best describes our primary patients: seals and sea lions. Our educator will lead your group around the public areas of our hospital, sharing stories about the rescue and rehabilitation of current pinniped patients. Students view the fish kitchen, chart room, the laboratory and animal pools and pens, possibly seeing our seal and sea lion patients as well as staff and volunteers at work. Students will come away understanding the "who, what, where, why, when and how" of The Marine Mammal Center and also why we say "Save a Seal: Save Ourselves."
Self-Guided Visit
Reserve a time to lead your own group (of more than ten people) on a self-guided visit through The Marine Mammal Center's public areas. Exhibits throughout the facility inform your group about our work. Docents stationed at the Info Desk and Upper Viewing Area are available to answer questions. Enjoy watching seal and sea lion patients. Look into key areas such as the fish kitchen, chart room and laboratory. Depending on patient care activities, you may be able to watch animal care crews in action preparing food, feeding animals, cleaning pens, and working on medical charts; and you may see technicians doing laboratory analyses.
Please note: Self-Guided Visits are only available:
Sunday and Monday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday through Friday 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Hours vary on Saturdays
Weekday mornings may be available if requested no more than two weeks in advance by calling (415) 289-7330
Frequently Asked Questions | Reservation Request Form | Back to Chart
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