Learning Activities

These activities are individual investigations to actively engage learners. Some are computer-based interactives; others are instructions for activities to do in the classroom or at home.

You will find more hands-on activities in our Sea Searchers Handbook.


Animal Fact Cards and Games

Grade PreK-5, Age 4-10
Use our animal fact cards to play Critter Concentration, Critter Go Fish or Guess Who. Make your own field guide and then bring the cards with you on your next visit to the aquarium.
(Print-and-Do, English/Español)

Number and ABC Search Activities

Grade K-3, Age 5-8 [ELL K-5, Age 5-10]
Students search for an animal with body parts for each number from one to ten, or for an animal or algae for each letter of the alphabet.
(Print-and-Do)

'Tic-Tac-Toe' Interactive

Grade K+, Age 5+
Challenge a decorator crab or cock-eyed squid to online tic-tac-toe.
(Online Only)

Coloring Pages

Grade PreK-2, Age 4-7
Print personalized pages of your favorite animals, such as sea otters, sharks and jellies.
(Print-and-Do)

'Pup's Supper/Le cena del cachorro' Bilingual Book Interactive

Grade PreK-2, Age 5-7; [ELL PreK-5, Age 5-10]
Watch the playful world of sea otters come to life in this animated online story for beginning readers. You and your child can read the story together and have some interactive fun.
(Online Only, English/Español, Flash plugin required)

Otter Lunch Bag Puppet

Grade PreK-3, Age 4-9
Make a sea otter puppet of your very own; then act out a story with your new otter friend.
(Print-and-Do, English/Español)

Otters' Favorite Foods

Grade K-2, Age 5-8
Learn about which foods sea otters like to eat, their habitat and about simple food chains in this set of sea otter activities. Standards-based teaching unit.
(Web and Print-and-Do)

'Sea Otter' Interactive

Grade K-8, Age 5-13
Learn about sea otters in this fun interactive
(Online Only, Flash plugin required)

'Make a Tide Pool' Game

Grade PreK-5, Age 4-10
Make a tide pool come to life in this popular online interactive. Learn about the animals that live in the rocky shore.
(Splash Zone Exhibit activity, Online Only)

'Crunch, Nibble, Gulp, Bite' Interactive

Grade PreK-5, Age 4-10
Play this online game to find out "who likes to eat what for lunch" in the coral reef.
(Splash Zone Exhibit activity, Online Only)

Penguin Headband

Grade PreK-2, Ages 4-8
Create your own penguin headband and have a penguin party.
(Splash Zone Exhibit activity, Print-and-Do)

Splash Zone Music

All ages (Audio and Lyrics)
Sing along and play to our Splash Zone sea songs just for kids!
(Online Only)

Natural History Poster Activities

All ages
Six color printable natural history posters with standards based classroom activities. Themes are Kelp Forest, Rocky Shore, Sandy Beach, Wetlands, Deep Sea and Coral Reef.
(Print-and-Do)

Decorate a Shark Mask

Grade PreK-5, Age 4-10
Pacific Northwest artists carve wooden masks for dancers to wear during ceremonies. Make your own shark mask!
(Print-and-Do)

Create a Shark Totem Pole

Grade PreK-5, Age 4-10
Totem poles tell stories about people or families and their relationships to animals. Can you find the shark on this pole?
(Print-and-Do)

Make a Shark Headdress

Grade PreK-5, Age 4-10
West Africans hold celebrations to honor sharklike spirits. The dancers wear wooden headdresses that look like a shark. Make one of your own!
(Print-and-Do)

Ray Hide and Seek

Grade preK-4, Age 4-9
River rays blend into the bottom of the Amazon River with their variety of camouflage patterns. Can you find a good hiding place for these rays?
(Print-and-Do)

Shark School of Art

Grade 3-12, Age 8-18
Learn some tips for creating your own shark cartoons and comics.
(Print-and-Do)

Shark Spotting Guide

Open Sea Spotting Guide

All ages
See how many animals you can spot during your next visit or on our web site using these one-page spotting guides.
(Web or Print-and-Do)

Is There Kelp in Your Cupboard? Interactive

Grade K-8, Age 5-13
Be a seaweed sleuth and find the kelp in your house. Play online or at home.
(Web or Print-and-Do)

Animal GuideAnimal Guide

All ages
Our Animal Guide includes photos, animal information and conservation notes for over 150 plants and animals.
(Online Only)

'Kelp Forest' Crossword

Grade 4-8, Age 9-13
Challenge yourself with this crossword puzzle to see what you know about the kelp forest.
(Print-and-Do)

Bird Bingo

Grade K-6, Age 5-11
Have fun and learn more about birds. Play our bird bingo activity when you visit the aquarium or at home.
(Print-and-Do)

'Deep Sea' Memory Game

Grade K-Adult, Age 5+
Challenge your friends to our online deep sea matching game. The lowest score wins.
(Online Only)

Lanternfish Sticks

Grade K-4, Age 5-9
Make your own glow-in-the-dark fish. Then have a fishstick party.
(Print-and-Do)

Dive into the Deep

Grade 4-12, Age 9-18
Create an undersea scene and discover what a submersible "sees" as it dives deep in Monterey Canyon.
(Print-and-Do)

Make an Aquascope

All ages
Visiting the rocky shore offers an exciting look at ocean plants and animals in the place they call home. Using a homemade aquascope, you can watch tide pool life right where it is and leave the animals in their tide pool homes.
(Print-and-Do)

Video Library

All ages
Our online video library includes over 30 short videos of animals in action including sharks and behind the scenes stories. It's a great way to learn about animal behavior.
(Online Only)