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AdaptationsSpines, shells, suction cups, and more! There

are so many amazing adaptations to see at the

Aquarium. Each one helps the animal survive in

its habitat. Fish and sharks have gills to breathe

underwater, crabs have claws to grab food,

and urchins have spines to protect themselves.

Explore four unique adaptations and compare

how different animals use adaptations to survive.

It’s all about

Leve

l 1

Chaperones:Use this guide to move your group through the Aquarium’s galleries. The background informa-tion, guided questions, and activities will keep your students engaged and actively learning.

CHAPERONE

GUIDEF I E L D T R I P

1st GRADE

aquariumofpacific.org 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, CA 90802

•Touchashark•Seeashow•VisitaDiscoveryLab•Askquestions•Havefun!

Things to do

…at the Aquarium

•WriteordrawaboutyourtriptotheAquarium•Consideraclassroomanimaladoption•Visit aquariumofpacific.org/teachers•Keeplearningmore

…back at school

LeBurta Atherton Foundation

With generous support from:

SeaO

tters

Jewels

Jellies

DiscoveryLab

Stonefish

TropicalTunnel

Lionfish

Pinnacle

Jellies

BlueWhale

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n Pre

view,

Disc

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Blue

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Stonefish and LionfishFromstonefishthatcamouflageintherockstolionfishthatbrightlywarnoftheirvenom,tropicalfishusecolorinmanyways.Falseeyespots,stripes,designs,andbrightcolorsarejustsomemethodsafishmayusetoconfuse,warn,ordistractpotentialpredators.Whenyoulookatafish,whatdoitscolorssaytoyou?

Guiding questions:What is it called when an animal blends into its surroundings? Why would a fish have a false eye spot? How does a fish warn a predator with color?

Activities for students:Find a venomous fish that camouflages in the rocks.Find a brightly colored venomous fish.

Jellies and AnemonesJelliesandanemonesarecnidarians,oranimalsthathavestingingcells.Theirtentaclesarecoveredwiththesestingingcells,callednematocysts,whichareusedtocatchprey.Althoughanemonesstingtheirfood,ourskinissothick,itjustfeelssticky.

Guiding questions:What does the anemone’s tentacle feel like? Why? What body parts can you see on the jelly? How does the jelly move?

Activities for students:Jellies move wherever the water takes them. Pretend to be a jelly in an ocean current.

Sea Otters and HumansAllmammals,whetheronlandorintheocean,havehairatsomepointintheirlives.Manyusehairorfurtomaintainaconstantinternalbodytemperature.Thisiscalledbeingwarm-blooded.Sinceseaottersliveinverycoldwatertheyrelyonthickfurandafastmetabolismtostaywarm.

Guiding questions:What do otters breathe? Do otters and humans have anything in common?What behaviors do you see the otter doing?

Activities for students:Are you warm-blooded? Feel your forehead and under your armpit. What does it feel like? Play charades with the five characteristics of mammals (hair, live birth, drink milk, breathe air, and warm-blooded.)

Seaotters,unlikeothermarine

mammals,havenoblubbertokeep

themwarm.

Lionfisharealsovenomous,buttheyadvertisetheirvenomwithbrightcolors.

Stonefisharethemostvenomousfishontheplanetandlookjustliketherocks!

Clownfishareknownforlivingwithintheanemone’stentacles,butdonotgetstung. Jellieshaveno

heart,nobrain,andnoblood.

Bluewhalescanweighupto300,000poundsandmeasure100feetlong…

…that’slongerthanthreeschoolbuses!

Blue Whale and PlanktonIn the open ocean, size is a useful adaptation for survival. Boththe largestanimalontheplanet, thebluewhale,andthesmallestplankton call the open ocean their home. Plankton are oceandriftersandcanbeeitherplantsoranimals.Manyofourtouchtankinhabitantsstarttheirlivesasdriftinganimals.

Guiding questions:What tools can we use to see small animals? Blue whales eat plankton. How do they eat such small food?

Activities for students:How many 1st grade students does it take to equal the length of a blue whale? Hold hands and stretch out from the whale’s fluke to its mouth.

Copepodsareplankton,andoneofthemostabundantanimalsontheplanet.

Inaspacethesizeofaquarter,

otterscanhaveupto1millionhairs!

A m A z i N g A D A P T A T i O N : A m A z i N g A D A P T A T i O N : A m A z i N g A D A P T A T i O N : A m A z i N g A D A P T A T i O N :