If you grow up in Santa Cruz County it’s inevitable you will end up going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium every year for a field trip. So of course we went on a field trip with Ocean – our home school team.

We went on Monday and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. We got to Monterey little bit early and we had a chance to watch the animals play in the water with barely any crowd at all. As we watched, friends started arriving and we all headed down to the aquarium.

The folks at the Monterey Bay Aquarium put on a great show for homeschoolers. they had an opening presentation that helped us understand what we would see that day. Then they set up some hands-on displays that let the kids touch and explore some of the smaller sea animals. They also had some great handouts targeting different age groups.

Of course Katie and I were most interested in the jellies and the seahorses (yes, those are seahorses in the second photo!). The aquarium has put together a beautiful display that lets you see the delicate intricacies of the jellies. Some of them are simply spectacular.

Downstairs they have another display of sea horses that shows their diversity and complexity. It is easy to see why so many people are interested in them they are mystical and intriguing.

After lunch, Katie and I had a lot of fun hanging out, basically being goofballs. We had fun taking pictures, playing in the water (in some of the exhibits) and when we went for an afternoon snack, we got to see a local baby harbor seal as it sat a rock just beyond the café’s deck.

One of the coolest things we got to see was an albatross is reported to be one of the favorite birds at the aquarium, according to the staff. We ended the day sharing a cupcake looking out over the water and enjoying the unusual heat wave bathing the Monterey Bay.

So bottom-line: even though we’ve been there a dozen times or more this field trip was one of the best.

Home School POV
I had Katie take pictures at the aquarium and come home and do a slideshow with them. I thought this was one way she could get closer to the different varieties of the jellies and seahorses.