Learn about the unique adaptations an owl has to help it survive. Students will learn about the beak, feathers, and wings as they dress up a classmate. Your class is sure to have a hooterific time meeting one of our owl ambassadors through this program!

Preschool programs include an hour-long lesson and craft facilitated by the Living Coast Education Instructor per class. Fees include admission to animal exhibits and a provided lunch space with storage. Exact program schedule varies by group size. Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Animals slither, swim, jump, and fly in very interesting ways. Students will learn about local animals that call San Diego home. Through fun dance moves and up-close animal encounters, children will walk away knowing how to crawl like a tortoise and slither like a snake.

Preschool programs include an hour-long lesson and craft facilitated by the Living Coast Education Instructor per class. Fees include admission to animal exhibits and a provided lunch space with storage. Exact program schedule varies by group size. Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Students will learn about tide pools as a habitat and the animals that live there. Through up-close animal encounters, they will learn about their adaptations and how they can survive life on the rocks.

Preschool programs include an hour-long lesson and craft facilitated by the Living Coast Education Instructor per class. Fees include admission to animal exhibits and a provided lunch space with storage. Exact program schedule varies by group size. Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Come crawl into the world of crabs and other crustacean relatives. Learn about adaptations with fun hands-on exploration. Students will enjoy touching and observing crustacean molts and live crabs.

This is a station-based program, with some stations being led by Living Coast staff members and docents. If docents are unavailable, classroom teachers and/or chaperones are required to lead stations using provided resources. Exact program schedule and stations varies by group size and program type. Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:00 PM or 10 AM - 1:30 PM

Slither yourself into the world of reptiles. Learn, through hands-on exploration, the adaptations that make snakes a successful predator. Students will get to have an up-close encounter with a snake.

This is a station-based program, with some stations being led by Living Coast staff members and docents. If docents are unavailable, classroom teachers and/or chaperones are required to lead stations using provided resources. Exact program schedule and stations varies by group size and program type. Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:00 PM or 10 AM - 1:30 PM

Arthropods are all around, just waiting to be observed by bug-eyed scientists. With microscopes and magnifying glasses, the small world of arthropods will come alive.

This is a station-based program, with some stations being led by Living Coast staff members and docents. If docents are unavailable, classroom teachers and/or chaperones are required to lead stations using provided resources. Exact program schedule and stations varies by group size and program type. Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM or 10 AM - 2 PM

Come soar into the world of birds and find out what structures they have to help them survive. Students will get to experiment with “beaks” and learn to use binoculars.

This is a station-based program, with some stations being led by Living Coast staff members and docents. If docents are unavailable, classroom teachers and/or chaperones are required to lead stations using provided resources. Exact program schedule and stations varies by group size and program type. Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM or 10 AM - 2 PM

Dig into the world of plant adaptations. An engaging lab, where students will get to practice their observation skills and study the leaves of real native plants found right here on the marsh!

This is a station-based program, with some stations being led by Living Coast staff members and docents. If docents are unavailable, classroom teachers and/or chaperones are required to lead stations using provided resources. Exact program schedule and stations varies by group size and program type. Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM or 10 AM - 2 PM

Tread lightly – our impact can be bigger than we think. Students will get to observe with binoculars native birds and their local habitat. Students will record and tally different species for comparison.

This is a station-based program, with some stations being led by Living Coast staff members and docents. If docents are unavailable, classroom teachers and/or chaperones are required to lead stations using provided resources. Exact program schedule and stations varies by group size and program type. Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM or 10 AM - 2 PM

What could be more perfect than learning about pollinators in a living garden? They’ll get hands-on with pollination and discover its importance to native species. Through fun, interactive role-play, the students will get hands-on with the entire pollination sequence!

This is a station-based program, with some stations being led by Living Coast staff members and docents. If docents are unavailable, classroom teachers and/or chaperones are required to lead stations using provided resources. Exact program schedule and stations varies by group size and program type. Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM or 10 AM - 2 PM

Ever wonder what it means to be a crab? Get up close with crabs, lobsters, and other crustaceans as you explore the world of arthropods. From exoskeletons to real live animal encounters, students will learn what it means to be a marine invertebrate. Your students will be excited about their crabbing adventures and all that they learned in the crustacean lab.

This is a station-based program, with some stations being led by Living Coast staff members and docents. If docents are unavailable, classroom teachers and/or chaperones are required to lead stations using provided resources. Exact program schedule and stations varies by group size and program type. Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM or 10 AM - 2 PM

Students will become shark experts on local species and may even get to meet a shark up close! This interactive lab teaches students about the many adaptations these top predators have to survive.

This is a station-based program, with some stations being led by Living Coast staff members and docents. If docents are unavailable, classroom teachers and/or chaperones are required to lead stations using provided resources. Exact program schedule and stations varies by group size and program type. Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM or 10 AM - 2 PM

Students will learn about the internal and external parts that help a squid survive its ocean habitat. From three hearts to a reduced shell, the squid is a fascinating mollusk to scientifically study.

This is a one-hour standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Exact program schedule varies by group size. Program duration includes rotations through one-hour lesson (led by staff), outdoor exhibit exploration, lunch, scavenger hunt and trail exploration (led by classroom teacher). Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM or 10 AM - 2:00 PM

What better way to study ecology, than become an ecologist yourself? Students will study important aspects of ecology such as adaptations, predator-prey relations, and the recycling of organic matter. Then, students will apply their new knowledge by looking for evidence of different animal species while hiking the trails around the refuge.

This is a station-based program, with some stations being led by Living Coast staff members and docents. If docents are unavailable, classroom teachers and/or chaperones are required to lead stations using provided resources. Exact program schedule and stations varies by group size and program type. Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM or 10 AM - 2 PM

Get your hands all scaly and slimy with this dissection. Through this fun, interactive dissection, students explore the internal and external parts that help a fish survive its marine habitat.

This is a one-hour standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Exact program schedule varies by group size. Program duration includes rotations through one-hour lesson (led by staff), outdoor exhibit exploration, lunch, scavenger hunt and trail exploration (led by classroom teacher). Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM or 10 AM - 2:00 PM

This program is a perfect introduction to everything ecology. Come be challenged by the delicate balance of an ecological food web that must overcome disasters, natural and man-made alike.

This is a station-based program, with some stations being led by Living Coast staff members and docents. If docents are unavailable, classroom teachers and/or chaperones are required to lead stations using provided resources. Exact program schedule and stations varies by group size and program type. Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM or 10 AM - 2 PM

Get your hands all scaly and slimy with this dissection. Through this fun, interactive dissection, students explore the internal and external parts that help a fish survive its marine habitat.

This is a one-hour standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Exact program schedule varies by group size. Program duration includes rotations through one-hour lesson (led by staff), outdoor exhibit exploration, lunch, scavenger hunt and trail exploration (led by classroom teacher). Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM or 10 AM - 2:00 PM

Students will visit a local wetland to sample current conditions. Learn the importance of variables such as salinity, pH, turbidity, and oxygen when it comes to monitoring the health of an ecosystem!

This is a station-based program, with some stations being led by Living Coast staff members and docents. If docents are unavailable, classroom teachers and/or chaperones are required to lead stations using provided resources. Exact program schedule and stations varies by group size and program type. Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM or 10 AM - 2 PM

Students will visit a local wetland to sample current conditions while completing Advanced Watershed Ecosystem chemistry. Learn the importance of variables such as salinity, pH, turbidity, and oxygen when it comes to monitoring the health of an ecosystem!

This is a station-based program, with some stations being led by Living Coast staff members and docents. If docents are unavailable, classroom teachers and/or chaperones are required to lead stations using provided resources. Exact program schedule and stations varies by group size and program type. Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM or 10 AM - 2 PM

The fish off the California coast are all dying and it is up to you, a fish scientist, to help save them! Jr. Ichthyologists will dissect fish to learn about their internal systems and discover what may have caused their mysterious death. Learn about the importance of protecting whole ecosystems, studying causes of population die offs, and why science is really important for meeting human needs.

This is a one-hour standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Exact program schedule varies by group size. Program duration includes rotations through one-hour lesson (led by staff), outdoor exhibit exploration, lunch, scavenger hunt and trail exploration (led by classroom teacher). Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM or 10 AM - 2:00 PM

Students will learn about the internal and external parts that help a squid survive its ocean habitat. From three hearts to a reduced shell, the squid is a fascinating mollusk to scientifically study. Students will learn where a squid falls in the taxonomic classification and its related ancestors.

This is a one-hour standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Exact program schedule varies by group size. Program duration includes rotations through one-hour lesson (led by staff), outdoor exhibit exploration, lunch, scavenger hunt and trail exploration (led by classroom teacher). Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM or 10 AM - 2:00 PM

Our Composting Program is perfect for your class, garden club, or sustainability group. Suggested for Grades 3-12. Come visit the Living Coast compost demonstration garden and learn the “Whats, Whys, and Hows of Composting”.
This is a station-based program, with some stations being led by Living Coast staff members and docents. If docents are unavailable, classroom teachers and/or chaperones are required to lead stations using provided resources. Exact program schedule and stations varies by group size and program type. Maximum of 3 classes per day (96 students).

Program schedule options: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM or 10 AM - 2 PM

Visit the Living Coast with your group and explore the center on your own. Storage area, lunch space, and scavenger hunt materials can be provided by request.

Learn about the unique adaptations an owl has to help it survive. Students will learn about the beak, feathers, and wings as they dress up a classmate. Your class is sure to have a hooterific time meeting one of our owl ambassadors through this program!

Outreach Programs involve a 30-minute standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Maximum of 4 classes per day (130 students). Please let us know exact scheduling needs.

Animals slither, swim, jump, and fly in very interesting ways. Students will learn about local animals that call San Diego home. Through fun dance moves and up-close animal encounters, children will walk away knowing how to crawl like a tortoise and slither like a snake.

Outreach Programs involve a 30-minute standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Maximum of 4 classes per day (130 students). Please let us know exact scheduling needs.

Students will learn about tide pools as a habitat and the animals that live there. Through up-close animal encounters, they will learn about their adaptations and how they can survive life on the rocks.

Outreach Programs involve a 30-minute standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Maximum of 4 classes per day (130 students). Please let us know exact scheduling needs.

Come crawl into the world of crabs and other crustacean relatives. Learn about adaptations with fun hands-on exploration. Students will enjoy touching and observing crustacean molts and live crabs.

Outreach Programs involve a one-hour standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Maximum of 4 classes per day (130 students). Please let us know exact scheduling needs.

Slither yourself into the world of reptiles. Learn, through hands-on exploration, the adaptations that make snakes a successful predator. Students will get to have an up-close encounter with a snake.

Outreach Programs involve a one-hour standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Maximum of 4 classes per day (130 students). Please let us know exact scheduling needs.

Arthropods are all around, just waiting to be observed by bug-eyed scientists. With microscopes and magnifying glasses, the small world of arthropods will come alive.

Outreach Programs involve a one-hour standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Maximum of 4 classes per day (130 students). Please let us know exact scheduling needs.

Dig into the world of plant adaptations. An engaging lab, where students will get to practice their observation skills and study the leaves of real native plants found right here on the marsh!

Outreach Programs involve a one-hour standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Maximum of 4 classes per day (130 students). Please let us know exact scheduling needs.

Come soar into the world of birds and find out what structures they have to help them survive. Students will get to experiment with “beaks” and learn to use binoculars.

Outreach Programs involve a one-hour standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Maximum of 4 classes per day (130 students). Please let us know exact scheduling needs.

What could be more perfect than learning about pollinators in a living garden? They’ll get hands-on with pollination and discover its importance to native species. Through fun, interactive role-play, the students will get hands-on with the entire pollination sequence!

Outreach Programs involve a one-hour standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Maximum of 4 classes per day (130 students). Please let us know exact scheduling needs.

Ever wonder what it means to be a crab? Get up close with crabs, lobsters, and other crustaceans as you explore the world of arthropods. From exoskeletons to real live animal encounters, students will learn what it means to be a marine invertebrate. Your students will be excited about their crabbing adventures and all that they learned in the crustacean lab.

Outreach Programs involve a one-hour standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Maximum of 4 classes per day (130 students). Please let us know exact scheduling needs.

This program is a perfect introduction to everything ecology. Come be challenged by the delicate balance of an ecological food web that must overcome disasters, natural and man-made alike.

Outreach Programs involve a one-hour standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Maximum of 4 classes per day (130 students). Please let us know exact scheduling needs.

Through a fishy and fun dissection, students will compare what parts of a fish are similar or different to humans. Fish provide an excellent model for scientific exploration and comparison of vascular systems.

Outreach Programs involve a one-hour standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Maximum of 4 classes per day (130 students). Please let us know exact scheduling needs.

Students will learn about the internal and external parts that help a squid survive its ocean habitat. From three hearts to a reduced shell, the squid is a fascinating mollusk to scientifically study.

Outreach Programs involve a one-hour standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Maximum of 4 classes per day (130 students). Please let us know exact scheduling needs.

Crawl into the world of reptiles, with our San Diego animal ambassadors. Learn about what all reptiles have in common. Look at snake skin up-close and compare the sizes of tortoises and sea turtles.

A 60-minute discovery booth featuring a local San Diego animal and hands-on science interaction. Perfect for your next science night or community event. Discovery Stations allow students to explore freely with a Living Coast staff member to answer questions.

Learn what it takes to live in the air! Meet one of our raptor ambassadors up-close and discover how feathers, hollow bones, and specially shaped wings adapt birds for flight. This table is sure to inspire the naturalist in all your students!

A 60-minute discovery booth featuring a local San Diego animal and hands-on science interaction. Perfect for your next science night or community event. Discovery Stations allow students to explore freely with a Living Coast staff member to answer questions.

Life is tough in the tidepools! Children will discover some of the crazy ways tidepool animals are adapted for the rocky shores. With hands-on interaction, students will be able to touch, see, and discover what it takes to cling to a slippery home.

A 60-minute discovery booth featuring a local San Diego animal and hands-on science interaction. Perfect for your next science night or community event. Discovery Stations allow students to explore freely with a Living Coast staff member to answer questions.

Have a school assembly or carnival coming up? Our animal ambassadors are true showstoppers! This is a 15-20 minute appearance featuring a local San Diego animal. The Living Coast staff will introduce the animal and teach the students about all its amazing adaptations.

Looking for a unique way for the community to connect with wildlife? Book a 45 - 60-minute program with live animals, interactive tables, and hands-on discovery for your local families to enjoy!

The first 30 minutes will be a lesson led by a Living Coast staff member. The remaining 15-30 minutes will be a discovery station. Discovery Stations allow students to explore freely with a Living Coast staff member to answer questions.

Our Composting Program is perfect for your class, garden club, or sustainability group. Suggested for Grades 3-12. We come to your school and teach the “Whats, Whys, and Hows of Composting”. If you have a compost bin on site, we also spend time turning the pile together.

Outreach Programs involve a one-hour standards-based lesson with a Living Coast staff member. Maximum of 4 classes per day (130 students). Please let us know exact scheduling needs.

Come crawl into the world of crabs and other crustacean relatives. Learn about adaptations with fun hands-on exploration. Students will enjoy touching and observing crustacean molts and live crabs.

Slither yourself into the world of reptiles. Learn, through hands-on exploration, the adaptations that make snakes a successful predator. Students will get to have an up-close encounter with a snake.

Arthropods are all around, just waiting to be observed by bug-eyed scientists. With microscopes and magnifying glasses, the small world of arthropods will come alive.

Come soar into the world of birds and find out what structures they have to help them survive. Students will get to experiment with “beaks” and learn to use binoculars.

Dig into the world of plant adaptations. An engaging lab, where students will get to practice their observation skills and study the leaves of real native plants found right here on the marsh!

Tread lightly – our impact can be bigger than we think. Students will get to observe with binoculars native birds and their local habitat. Students will record and tally different species for comparison.

Everything’s exciting when mud is involved! Students will be introduced to the forces that shape our earth by getting to build their very own mountain and watch it come tumbling down.

What could be more perfect than learning about pollinators in a living garden? They’ll get hands-on with pollination and discover its importance to native species. Through fun, interactive role-play, the students will get hands-on with the entire pollination sequence!

Students will become shark experts on local species and may even get to meet a shark up close! This interactive lab teaches students about the many adaptations these top predators have to survive.

Come see a real archaeological wonder found right here on the marsh. Students will become archaeologists and explore an ancient midden (trash pile) left behind by the Kumeyaay Indians.

Ever wonder what it means to be a crab? Get up close with crabs, lobsters, and other crustaceans as you explore the world of arthropods. From exoskeletons to real live animal encounters, students will learn what it means to be a marine invertebrate. Your students will be excited about their crabbing adventures and all that they learned in the crustacean lab.
This program is best when there is a low tide. Please see the Tide-Dependent Optimal Dates link before choosing your dates if possible.

This program provides an opportunity for students to learn how they directly impact their local coastal environment. Students learn about watershed pollution, have up- close encounters with marine animals and participate in a beach clean-up.

Kumeyaay Native Americans and Spanish Explores have used plants in this area for hundreds of years in many different ways. Become an Ethnobotanist and examine the uses of native and non-native species.

Get your hands all scaly and slimy with this dissection. Through this fun, interactive dissection, students explore the internal and external parts that help a fish survive its marine habitat

Why do birds fly, fish swim, and crabs crawl? Discover, through up close encounters, what structures help saltmarsh organisms survive. Students become experts of structure and function.

Come learn what processes affect our landscape with interactive weathering and erosion experiments. The rock cycle lab is sure to inspire the geologist in your students as they create rocks with candy!

Students will learn about the internal and external parts that help a squid survive its ocean habitat. From three hearts to a reduced shell, the squid is a fascinating mollusk to scientifically study.

Kick-start your ecology knowledge with a fun exploration of the Sweetwater Marsh Refuge. Students will study important aspects of ecology such as adaptations, predator-prey relations, and the recycling of organic matter.

Students will hike out to observe the dramatic changes the tide makes on the wetland. And then students will get to study a real tidal chart and learn how scientists predict the tide into the future. This program is tide dependent and only offered on select dates.
This program is Tide-Dependent and ONLY offered on a few select dates this year. You MUST pick one of these dates!
Nov. 13, 14, 15, 27, 28
Dec. 12, 13
Jan. 11, 25

Get your hands all scaly and slimy with this dissection. Through this fun, interactive dissection, students explore the internal and external parts that help a fish survive its marine habitat.

This program is a perfect introduction to everything ecology. Come be challenged by the delicate balance of an ecological food web that must overcome disasters, natural and man-made alike.

Discover the animal “gene pool lottery” that will produce good adaptations, bad traits, and bizarre appearances for wild animals. Students will model dominant and recessive traits with a chance to create an ultimate animal or be stuck with a bizarre organism.

Students will visit a local wetland to sample current conditions. Learn the importance of variables such as salinity, pH, turbidity, and oxygen when it comes to monitoring the health of an ecosystem!

This program is best when there is a high tide. Please consider booking one of these optimal dates if possible.
Oct. 16, 17, 18, 30, 31
Nov. 14, 15, 16, 28, 29, 30
Dec. 13, 14
Jan. 11

This program provides an opportunity for students to learn how they directly impact their local coastal environment. Students learn about watershed pollution, have up- close encounters with marine animals and participate in a beach clean-up.
This program is Tide-Dependent and ONLY offered on a few select dates this year. You MUST pick one of these dates!
Oct. 23, 24
Nov. 6, 7
Dec. 5, 6, 7
Feb. 1, 2, 3, 15
Mar. 4, 5
Apr. 15, 16, 17, 29, 30
May 1, 2, 13, 14, 15, 16, 28, 29, 30

Students restore the upland habitat by preparing the area and planting native plants. Students learn what plants need to grow, the proper way to plant, and how to best care for drought-tolerant plants.