Saint Elizabeth’s 3rd Grade Class Visit Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

On November 13th Saint Elizabeth’s third grade class had the opportunity to visit the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro. This hidden gem is a terrific place for students to grow in their investigative and critical thinking skills. They had a 90 minute presentation in the Aquatic Nursery. Here the students were placed into three groups where they learned about different habitats, animal adaptations, and anatomy of specific sea animals.

Some of the favorite facts that the students learned were that Moon Jellyfish have four stomaches and eight eyes, Pipefish have a snout with a hinged jaw so they “slurp” their food into their mouth, and abalone live on the rocky shore and are able to twist their shells to fend off predators. The scientists also allowed to students to feed the abalone kelp and to touch the Moon Jellyfish, which was definitely a highlight for many.

After the presentation students were able to observe other animals in the aquarium. Many students loved seeing the shark eggs. The aquarium backlighted the eggs so you were able to see the baby sharks moving in the eggs under a microscope. Students were also able to see some of the animals that we have been learning about in class and were thrilled to see a real life example of what it looks like when an animal molts its shell. The students had a terrific time learning about the ocean and some its habitants.

St. Elizabeth Parish School, 1840 N. Lake Avenue, Altadena, (626) 797-7727 or visit www.saint-elizabeth.org.