Week-Long Labs
Marine Biologist for a Week!
Grades: 1-3 | June 1-5 | $320 (Includes all materials, live specimens, and take-home projects.)
Dive into the incredible world just beneath the waves! As marine biologists for the week, we will investigate adaptations, food webs, and life cycles, from microscopic plankton to top ocean predators. Through hands-on exploration of living plants and animals from San Diego’s coastal habitats, we will examine the strategies organisms use to survive in diverse environments, including sandy shores, tidepools, kelp forests, biofouling communities, and the open ocean.
From marine mammal bones, baleen, and teeth to live and preserved fishes, sea stars, tunicates, crabs, and plankton, we will engage directly with the incredible diversity of ocean life. Using microscopes, plankton nets, fishery measurement tools, and creative art projects, we will ask questions, conduct experiments, and investigate the ecological challenges faced by organisms in these habitats.
Watershed Explorers
Grades 3-5 | June 8-12 | $320 (Includes all materials, live specimens, and take-home projects.)
In this hands-on science lab, we will spend our time exploring the local watershed—from the riparian banks of Tecolote Creek to the salt spray of the Pacific Ocean. Through real investigations, scientists will examine the region’s geology, fossil record, and hydrology, as well as the diverse plants and animals that call this ecosystem home. We will also learn how Indigenous peoples lived in and interacted with this landscape long ago, honoring their role as the original stewards of the land.
Throughout the week, our investigations include conducting a fossil dig with real local specimens, exploring animal behavior through up-close interactions with live organisms, and investigating how water moves through the environment. We will examine water chemistry and toxicology through water quality testing to understand how human activities impact the health of the watershed and its residents.
Through guided hikes in coastal sage scrub and riparian habitats, and hands-on experiments with plants and animals from the Kendall-Frost Marsh, Mission Bay, and the Pacific Ocean, scientists will uncover how all parts of the watershed are connected. By the end of the lab, each scientist will recognize their vital role as a future steward in protecting these essential San Diego ecosystems.
Two-Day Labs
Bio-Inspired Engineering
Grades 2nd-5th | July 27th-July 28th | $130
In this hands-on lab, we will explore engineering through the lens of how nature inspires innovation. Each day, scientists will investigate the amazing adaptations of local animals and the physics behind their movements—analyzing how structures like wings, fins, and specialized appendages help them survive in the wild.
By observing these natural wonders, we will apply the engineering design process to brainstorm, design, test, and modify prototypes in exciting hands-on challenges. From examining how a bird’s wing shape aids in lift to how a shark’s skin reduces drag, scientists will turn natural ideas into real-world solutions.
Single-Day Labs
Tidepool Adaptations
Grades K | July 29th | $60
Ever wonder how sea urchins, limpets, and California clingfish hold onto slippery rocks against crashing waves? Or why a hermit crab "borrows" a snail shell, and how a sea star can push its stomach out of its mouth to eat?
In this immersive one-day lab, we will explore what it takes to survive in the San Diego tidepools. Imagine a home that is covered and uncovered by the ocean twice a day, where the hot sun beats down and powerful waves pull in every direction. To thrive in this ever-changing environment, organisms have evolved incredible adaptations to move, find food, and avoid predators amidst the shifting conditions of low tide.
Working in small research teams, scientists will investigate live animals—including sea stars, crabs, and snails—to decode the diverse mechanical strategies they use to "hold on." We will compare the hydraulic suction of tube feet, the grip of jointed legs, and the power of a muscular foot. To bring these discoveries to life, each scientist will design and build a 3D intertidal model to demonstrate how their chosen animal survives the "tug-of-war" between the land and the sea. Every scientist will take their unique biological model home as a record of their investigation.
Single-Day Labs
Tidepool Adaptations
Grades 1-2 | July 30th | $60
Ever wonder how sea urchins, limpets, and California clingfish hold onto slippery rocks against crashing waves? Or why a hermit crab "borrows" a snail shell, and how a sea star can push its stomach out of its mouth to eat?
In this immersive one-day lab, we will explore what it takes to survive in the San Diego tidepools. Imagine a home that is covered and uncovered by the ocean twice a day, where the hot sun beats down and powerful waves pull in every direction. To thrive in this ever-changing environment, organisms have evolved incredible adaptations to move, find food, and avoid predators amidst the shifting conditions of low tide.
Working in small research teams, scientists will investigate live animals—including sea stars, crabs, and snails—to decode the diverse mechanical strategies they use to "hold on." We will compare the hydraulic suction of tube feet, the grip of jointed legs, and the power of a muscular foot. To bring these discoveries to life, each scientist will design and build a 3D intertidal model to demonstrate how their chosen animal survives the "tug-of-war" between the land and the sea. Every scientist will take their unique biological model home as a record of their investigation.
Arthropod Adventures
Grades 1-2 | July 31st | $60
The most abundant group of animals on planet Earth belongs to the Phylum Arthropoda. From ants, beetles, and spiders to shrimp, hermit crabs, and sheep crabs—arthropods are everywhere! These "jointed-leg" wonders have conquered almost every corner of the globe by wearing their skeletons on the outside and developing incredible tools for survival.
In this hands-on adventure, get up close and personal, touching a diverse array of live arthropods from both the ocean and the land. In small research teams, we will conduct live animal experiments to see these adaptations in action. We will test the mechanical strength of a beetle, observe how a hermit crab navigates varied terrains, and use microscopes to investigate if a larval shrimp’s movement changes when transitioning between light and dark. By investigating these questions, we will decode the diverse strategies these animals use to move, eat, avoid predators, and "hold on" in their respective environments.
To synthesize our discovery, each scientist will engineer a custom 3D arthropod using specialized materials to model real-world adaptations. From jointed legs to protective exoskeletons, this individual project demonstrates how form meets function.