In recent years, we've noticed fewer guided field trips around Vancouver, including at the Vancouver Aquarium, which no longer offers structured school programs. When Regi, a Grade 6 teacher, mentioned she was planning her own guided aquarium visit but needed support, an idea sparked: Why not scout the location and design the experience from within the Aquarium itself?
Regi's vision went beyond traditional fill-in-the-blank worksheets. She wanted to create meaningful connections to their curriculum on extreme environments while preserving the natural sense of wonder that marine life inspires. Together, we developed an engaging approach: students would step into the perspective of their chosen creatures and advocate for climate change protection as the animal. We landed on a guiding question for the field trip:
"How can we, as our animal of choice, advocate for climate change protection?"
Students will create videos, comics, animations or drawings based on an animal at the aquarium. Giving them a voice by embodying the animal as they advocate for climate change protection. Check out these examples from our instagram @classmate.team
Examples to inspire students.
Our Research Visit
Nick and I arrived early at the Vancouver Aquarium to design an experience for Regi's class. Our visit revealed a few insights for making the field trip meaningful and effective:
Observation Methods 🧐
We experimented with two observation techniques inspired by wildlife biologists:
- Sit Spots 🐒 - Like finding a secret hideout in nature, this involves choosing one spot to quietly observe an animal. We watched a sea anemone for 15 minutes and noticed how it responded to water currents, interacted with nearby creatures, and even seemed to "dance" in the changing light. This patient observation revealed behaviors we'd have missed just walking by.
- Focal Sampling 👀 - Instead of trying to watch all six sea otters at once, we focused on just one for several minutes. We noticed how it interacted with others, its preferred toys, and even its unique swimming style. This focused attention helped us see individual personalities emerge
We spent time with a number of different creatures! 👀
Natural Curiosity 😸
When we stopped trying to "study" the animals and simply watched with wonder, questions naturally bubbled up:
- Why does that sea anemone pulse that way?
- What makes the jellyfish choose certain swimming patterns?
- How do otters decide who gets which toy?
These spontaneous questions were far more interesting than anything we could have put on a worksheet. They arose from genuine curiosity and observation, showing us that students will likely engage more deeply when allowed to follow their own curiosity rather than checking boxes on a pre-made form.
Animal Personalities 🦭
Extended observation revealed surprising personalities in each creature:
- A wolf eel giving grumpy side-eye from its rocky den
- A harbor seal practicing its most charming poses, rolling and spinning near the viewing window
- The irresistibly charming sea otters, floating on their backs and sharing toys like playful children
This natural tendency to see personalities in animals – what scientists call anthropomorphizing – isn't just cute; it's a powerful tool for connection. When students relate to their chosen creatures as individuals with distinct personalities, they're more likely to care about protecting them and their habitats. This emotional connection will fuel more authentic and passionate climate advocacy projects.
Field Trip Planning 🪸
After our day of exploration, we came up with a schedule for the Regi’s upcoming field trip.
Morning ☀️ - Explore, Wonder & Play. See if your animal still resonates.
- We wanted to make sure the students have the opportunity to check that their chosen animal is easy to watch and document at their exhibit. After all, they’ll need to take as many pictures and videos as they can to use in their projects later on. If their animal isn't available or something else captures their eye, they'll have time to decide on a different exhibit to observe.
Lunch 🥪 - Sea Lion Training, Sea Otter Talk, 4D movie, then lunch.
- When we went to these shows ourselves, we realized how much we learned from the animal trainers and hosts. Students that choose to focus on one of the highlighted animals will have a fantastic opportunity to collect data, pictures/videos, and talk to the trainers to ask any questions they might have.
Afternoon 🙇 - Extended time with your animal. Document photos and videos.
- During their extended observation time, students will be encouraged to experiment with focal sampling and sit spots as they watch, document and capture videos and pictures of their animals.
- This is also when students will record questions they’re curious about in their field notebooks. Back at school, they’ll be asked to come up with hypotheses that might answer their questions.
What’s to Come ⏭️
The excitement doesn't end with the field trip. After the students visit the aquarium next month, they'll work on completing their projects in the new year. The grand finale will be a virtual feedback session with marine biology experts, where we're coordinating an opportunity for students to present their work and get their burning questions answered by real marine biologists in the field!
We can't wait!
Octopus Intelligence 🐙
Two Youtubers, Mark Rober and Adam Savage, created puzzles and mazes for Octopi. How did they ensure they captured the curiosity of the animal? Through observation of course!