Learning Resources
Whether you're visiting the Aquarium yourself, with your family or are organizing a class trip, here are some handy resources to help you before you arrive.
For individuals, families or groups:
For educators:
Educator Workshops
Calling all Educators! Are you interested in learning more about the ocean? Looking for ways to encourage student engagement and excitement about marine science?
Join us throughout the school year at one (or all) of our Educator Workshops!
From local habitats and marine life to relevant environmental issues, our workshops provide both formal and informal educators with unique and innovative content, methods, resources, and experiences to develop and share in (and out of) the “classroom”.
- Project Wet: Saturday, Feb 1, 9am-12noon
Get familiar with the tools and activities of Project WET (Water Education Today) as we look at our connections to the ocean through the watershed. Visit the nearby Salt Marsh, the Salinas de San Pedro, and observe its many inhabitants!
- Mysteries of the Kelp Forest (Rescheduled): Saturday, Feb 22, 10am-1pm
Discover the hidden wonders of Southern California's Kelp Forest! Get up close with local species in the Marine Science Lab. Examine the role seaweed plays in supporting local ecosystems and our global climate. Try out some fun seaweed STEAM activities!
- Plastic Soup with Algalita: Saturday, March 22, 9am-12noon
Join Algalita Marine Research and Education in learning about how microplastics impact our ocean and what educators can do about it! Learn about the science involved in studying the issues as you try out hands-on "Plastic Soup" and "Synthetic Sand" classroom investigation kits!
RSVP HERE
- Tidepools for Teachers: Saturday, April 5, 9am-12noon
Discover what the low tide will uncover with an introduction to the rocky shore habitat! Explore the Point Fermin Tidepools, learn and interact with local species, and try out some "Seashore STEAM" activities, adaptable for the classroom.
RSVP HERE
- Ichthyology: Saturday, May 3, 9am - 12noon
Learn about the diversity of fish living off of the coast of Southern California. Get up closer with local species, investigate the internal and external anatomy of a Pacific Mackerel during a hands-on fish dissection and practice printing fish through the Japanese art of Gyotaku.
RSVP HERE
*LAUSD P.D. Hours are available for most workshops
All workshops are free to attend. Space is limited - Reservations are required
For more information and/or to be added to our mailing list please contact: teacher.workshop@cmaqua.org
Ocean Discovery Kits
Teachers bring students to the Aquarium all the time, but what is another way to help teachers incorporate CMA’s ocean expertise in the classroom? Our specimen loan program called Ocean Discovery Kits!
The Ocean Discovery Kits are designed to complement NGSS. Loan services are available to teachers and non-profit educators who complete the workshop held at the aquarium at the start of every school year (RSVP required). Educators can check-out up to two kits per year for two weeks each. This workshop is currently approved for 4 hours of professional development through LAUSD's Joint Salary Point Credit Committee.
The Ocean Discovery Kits consist of themed boxes. Each kit is packed with preserved specimens, bones, books, models and a resource guide that includes lesson plans and hands-on classroom activities.
There are eight Ocean Discovery Kits to choose from:
- Marine Fossils & Sand
- Plankton & Algae
- Marine Invertebrates
- Sharks, Skates & Rays
- Bony Fishes
- Marine Birds & Reptiles
- Marine Mammals
- Ocean Stewardship
Lecture topic: Climate Change and Weather
Warming oceans, melting ice, and rising seas, Dr. Ian Fenty, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Arctic climate as Documented by Algal Rocks, Dr. Branwen Williams, Claremont McKenna College
California Drought - Are We In or Out?, Dr. Bill Patzert, Climatologist, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Teacher resources:
Lesson Plan - Climate
Worksheet - Climate
Library Pathfinder - Climate
Lecture topic: Marine Mammals
Beautiful Minds: Dolphins, Apes and the origins of Human Intelligence, Dr. Craig Stanford, USC
The amazing underwater world of blue and humpback whales: new tags provide insights into their lives and the threats they face, John Calambokidis, Cascadia Research
An urgent message from Mexico’s vaquita porpoise: protect me, protect life (yours included), Dr. Barbara Taylor, Southwest Fisheries Science Center
Teacher resources
Lesson Plan - Marine Mammals
Worksheet - Marine Mammals
Library Pathfinder - Marine Mammals
Lecture topic: Sharks
Return of Big Predators to California Waters, Dr. Chris Lowe, CSU Long Beach
Teacher resources
Lesson Plan - Sharks
Worksheets_Sharks
Lecture topic: Marine Fishes
Surf, Sand, and Silversides: Research and Outreach with California Grunion, Dr. Karen Martin, Pepperdine University
Ovaries, Testes, and Copulatory Structures – Oh My! The Importance of Understanding
Reproduction of Fishes, Dr. Kristy L. Forsgren, California State University, Fullerton
The Return of the Kelp Forest King, Dr. Larry G. Allen, California State University, Northridge
Beyond Big Fish, Restoring the Southern California Rocky Reef Ecosystem, Dr. Dan Pondella, Occidental College and Southern California Marine Institute (SCMI)
Teacher resources
Library Pathfinder - Fish Reproduction
Lecture topic: Marine Invertebrates
Parasites and food webs, Dr. Kevin Lafferty, US Geological Survey and UC Santa Barbara
Hugs and Drugs from Sea Slugs, Dr. Patrick J. Krug, California State University Los Angeles
If We Make Their Bed, They Will Lie In It: Restoration of Native Olympia Oysters in Southern California, Dr. Danielle Zacherl, California State University, Fullerton
Teacher resources
Library Pathfinder - Marine Invertebrates
Lecture topic: Plankton and Deep Sea
Do Swimming Animals Mix the Ocean?, Dr. John O. Dabiri, Stanford
The Vast Frontier: Tales From the Darkside, Mike Schaadt, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
Harmful Algal Blooms Along the California Coast, Dr. David Caron, USC
The Universe Below: Explorations of Life in the Deep Sea, Dr. Shana Goffredi, Occidental College
Teacher resources
Lesson Plan - Plankton and Deep Sea
Worksheets - Plankton
Library Pathfinder - Plankton and Deep Sea
Graphic - Currents
Graphic - Diatom Art
Graphic - Plankton ID
Lecture topic: Human Impacts and Aquaculture
There is a great future in plastics: So what’s the big (and little) deal?, Shelly Moore, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP)
Teaming with Nature in Managing Urban Runoff: More Bang for the Buck!, Dr. John Dorsey, Loyola Marymount University
Advances in beach water quality monitoring, Dr. Stephen Weisberg, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project
Sewers to Sanddabs: Profiling Orange County Sanitation District’s Ocean Monitoring Program, Dr. Jeff Armstrong, Environmental Supervisor, Orange County Sanitation District-Ocean Monitoring Program
Outlook on the Outer Continental Shelf for Offshore Energy, Dr. Ann Bull, Chief of Environmental Sciences Section Pacific Region, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
The Future of Food from the Sea, Dr. Steve Gaines, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, UC Santa Barbara
Aquaculture - The Fight for our Local Seafood, Kelly Stromberg, Catalina Sea Ranch
"The Golden Shore - California's Love Affair with the Sea", David Helvarg, Executive Director of Blue Frontier
Teacher resources
Lesson Plan - Human Impacts
Worksheet - Human Impacts
Library Pathfinder - Human Impacts
Lecture topic: Rocky Intertidal
Ecological Consequences of Thermal Stress on Wave-Swept Shores: Insights from a Model Ecosystem, Dr. Bengt J. Allen, California State University, Long Beach
Tides of change: Trends in Rocky Intertidal Communities, Dr. Richard F. Ambrose, UCLA
Teacher resources
Lesson Plan - Rocky Intertidal
Worksheet- Rocky Intertidal
Lecture topic: Salt Marshes and Wetlands
Designing solutions to restore wetlands in a time of change, Dr. Christine Whitcraft, California State University, Long Beach
Unearthing the Historical Wetlands of Southern California, Dr. Shawna Dark, CSU Northridge
Teacher resources
Lesson Plan - Wetlands
Worksheet - Bird Skeleton and Beak
Library Pathfinder - Wetlands