Preparing for your field trip
We are so excited for you and your class to visit us at the Seattle Aquarium. On this page, we have included some resources that will help you as a teacher prepare your students for a visit to the Aquarium. These resources may be especially helpful for students with sensory needs.
One of these resources is a social story, which is a learning tool developed by autism educator and advocate Carol Gray that helps clearly communicate information between parents, professionals and people with autism. The video below was created to help visitors on a school trip to the Aquarium.
For more information to help you prepare for your field trip, check out our Seattle Aquarium campus and sensory inclusion pages.
Table of contents
We’re going on a field trip
We are going on a trip to the Seattle Aquarium. A lot of animals live at the Aquarium, including fish, sea otters, sting rays and sea stars. We will learn about a lot of animals!
It is important for us to stay safe, and it is important for the animals we’re visiting to stay safe. We can make choices to help keep us all protected.
Sensory considerations: The Aquarium might be loud and crowded, depending on the day. Some areas of the Aquarium are darker than others. People who work at the Aquarium use microphones to make their voices louder, so more people can hear them.
Arriving at the Aquarium
To get to the Aquarium, we will probably need to take a bus or a car. The Aquarium is on the Seattle waterfront, so there is usually a lot going on. We might hear loud construction noises, like beeping or drilling.
If we’re in a car, we may need to park far away. If we’re on a bus, the driver will need to drop us off away from the Aquarium, not right in front of it. We will walk together in a group to the front of the Aquarium. Once there, we will meet Aquarium employees who will tell us some rules and help us get into the building.
Sensory considerations: The waterfront can be loud. There is often construction happening nearby. We may hear noise from engines, drills, hammers or other equipment. We may smell gas from nearby engines. Depending on the time of year, it may be cold, windy or rainy outside.
Getting into the Aquarium
When we arrive, someone who works at the Aquarium will meet our group. They will ask the teacher to go inside to check in at the front desk. While the teacher is checking in, the Aquarium employee will ask us to line up somewhere outside so we can all hear their instructions. There are a lot of people with us on this trip, and not everyone has been to the Aquarium before, so they might not know what to expect.
The employee will tell us where we can and can’t go in the Aquarium, where we can eat and how we can be nice to the animals. They will teach us how to gently touch the tide pool animals. They will also use this time to answer questions from the adults in our group. They will give the adults blue maps and chaperone stickers to wear. The Aquarium employee will lead us into an entrance in one of the buildings.
Sensory considerations: In addition to the other noises happening outside, the Aquarium employee will use a microphone so more people can hear them. There may be people exiting the Aquarium while we wait to enter, which can be distracting.
Overview of buildings
There are three buildings at the Aquarium. The Pier 59 and Pier 60 buildings are closer to the water, and the Ocean Pavilion building is closer to the street. The Aquarium employee will choose which building we enter based on what else is happening that day. The Piers 59 and 60 buildings have animals that would be found around the Pacific Northwest. The Ocean Pavilion building has tropical animals that would be found in the Coral Triangle.
We might not have time to visit all buildings during our trip. Even if we enter through the Pier 59 building, our chaperones can lead us to the Ocean Pavilion building as soon as they want. Their chaperone stickers are like a ticket that will get us into both buildings.
Chaperone groups
On our field trip, we will be split into groups. Each group will have a chaperone. A chaperone is an adult we know who helps to keep us safe. It is important to stay in our groups with our chaperones during our visit.
In our group, some of us might want to spend more time visiting certain animals. Some of us might even want to skip seeing some animals. Since we’re in a group, we will talk to each other about how to spend our time. We might take turns seeing our favorite animals. Our chaperone can help us to agree on a plan.
Piers 59 and 60 animals
Piers 59 and 60 are the areas of the Aquarium closest to Elliott Bay (the body of water next to the Aquarium). These parts of the Aquarium have been here for a long time. The animals living here would be found in the Pacific Northwest, where the water is cold. Sometimes, Aquarium employees with microphones will give presentations about the animals. Even if there’s not a presentation, there are Aquarium employees and volunteers who can answer our questions.
Here, we can visit an octopus, otters, seals, birds, lots of fishes and more! Pier 59 also has the only place in the Aquarium where we can touch animals: the Life on the Edge habitat.
Sensory considerations: It can be loud and crowded in these buildings. Some animals on Pier 60 are outdoors, so it may be cold.
Touching tide pool animals in Life on the Edge
We are not allowed to touch most of the animals at the Aquarium. The only animals we can touch at the Aquarium are tide pool animals in the Life on the Edge habitat. Some examples of tide pool animals are sea stars, sea anemones, sea urchins and sea cucumbers. It is each person’s choice to either touch the animals in the Life on the Edge habitat or not to touch them. If we are touching them, we need to wash our hands before and after.
The tide pool animals have a lot of different textures—slimy, spikey or squishy! If we are nervous, an Aquarium employee can explain what will happen. The water here is cold, and it might move like a wave. If anyone chooses not to touch a tide pool animal, that is okay.
It is important for us to touch the tide pool animals safely. We can keep the tide pool animals safe by being gentle and soft when we touch them. It is important that people don’t poke them or pick them up. If anyone doesn’t know how to touch a tide pool animal safely, an Aquarium employee can help.
Sensory considerations: This area is usually crowded and loud. The water is cold, and the animals have many different textures. This is an area where people can get a little bit wet, either on their sleeve or on their belly if the rocky wall of the tide pool is wet.
Ocean Pavilion animals
The Ocean Pavilion is the building closest to the street, across from Piers 59 and 60. This part of the Aquarium is new. The animals living here would be found in the Coral Triangle, where the water is warm.
Here, we can visit corals, rays, an Indo-Pacific leopard shark, lots of tropical fishes and more! In this building, there are no animals that we can touch, but there are a lot we can look at. Sometimes, Aquarium employees with microphones will give presentations about the animals. There are videos projected onto some of the walls and the floor. Even if there’s not a presentation, there are Aquarium employees and volunteers who can answer our questions.
Sensory considerations: The Ocean Pavilion building is loud and echoes a lot. There are video projections on the floor and walls of One Ocean Hall. There are dark, tight spaces. The restroom is for all genders. There is also a family restroom available.
Art, hope objects and connections to the ocean
At the Aquarium, we can learn about people and their connections to the ocean. There are videos and works of art that tell the stories of many cultures and people. All of these people help to care for our ocean in many ways.
We have a connection to the ocean too! We can talk with our adults about how we can be kind to our environment.
Eating at the Aquarium
There are only a few places where we can eat lunch at the Aquarium. If the weather is nice, we might eat outside on the back deck of Pier 59. We can also eat our lunch near the Life on the Edge habitat, against the wall. There are some benches there, but we might need to sit on the ground. There are trash bins, recycling bins and compost bins for us. Our adults can help us figure out which bin to use.
This space can be crowded, especially if there are other schools visiting the Aquarium, so our chaperone may decide to come back when there are less people there.
Sensory considerations: It can be loud and crowded in this area.
Taking a class at the Aquarium
If we are taking a class at the Aquarium, our group will meet downstairs just before our class starts. The person who let us into the building will give our chaperones and teachers a reminder on where and when to meet. The Aquarium has classrooms upstairs, and an Aquarium teacher will lead us there. When we’re walking to the classrooms, we’ll pass by people working in offices, so we’ll need to be quiet.
During class, someone who works at the Aquarium will teach us more about animals, the ocean and how to be kind to our environment. After class, someone will lead us out of the classrooms. Our teacher will let us know what we’re doing next.
Sensory considerations: Portions of our classes involve short lectures where students typically sit in a group to listen. If any students need extra space or accommodations, teachers can tell the Aquarium’s Registration team to ensure that all students are comfortable.
