Education

On-site School Programs

SERC School and Group Timed Entry Activities 2023

Shorelines

SERC has served Anne Arundel County, DC, Baltimore, and schools around the region for over 30 years. In an effort to improve our programs, we are changing the format of our field trips, while keeping many of the same components that make our field trips so timeless. The goal of reformatting our field trips is to increase our onsite capacity and to offer a greater value to educators. The cost is lower, which will allow us to serve a greater number of students, and the activities are more hands-on while being led by SERC Education staff and volunteers.

Our field trips are now what we call "Timed Entry," meaning that the stations are at set times from 10am-2pm. This model is more like what you might see in museums or aquariums, with activities at set times. Our staff and volunteers still teach the stations, but due to staffing, we can not flex times to accommodate unique groups every day. The times for these stations, an introduction, and lunch, are listed below. If you arrive late, we can not guarantee that all of the students can do all of the stations provided that day.

Shorelines Description

Our main field trip is called “Shorelines,” and is a four-hour field trip (you can choose to do 1 hour or up to all 4 hours) from 10am-2pm. There will be 45-minute stations focused on Chesapeake Bay biodiversity and the science of the Smithsonian. Students will take on the role of scientists, using similar sampling techniques and methods to learn about life in the Bay, and their connection to that life.

Grades Served

All of our stations are now designed to be adapted to serve grades 1st-12th. Our experienced educators can adapt materials and information, but the hands-on components are similar. For 1st and 2nd grade students, we will adapt programs to be entirely on land, and not on the docks.

"Shorelines" can be adapted for K-2nd, 3rd-8th, or 9th-12th. The stations offered will change based on season, group interest, availability, and weather. Please let us know if you have a particular focus you are interested in.

K-2nd: Seining, Oysters, Bay Sharks, Terrapins (live terrapin), Blue Crabs (live blue crab), or Marsh Hike

3rd-12th: Seining, Oysters, Bay Sharks (3rd-7th only), Terrapins (3rd-5th only), Blue Crab Lab, or Marsh Hike

Daily Activity Stations

Rotations run for about 45 minutes

  • Seining: Students grades 3+ will don waders and use nets to fish for a biodiversity of fish and invertebrates in the nearshore zone. K-2nd grade students will help with handling creatures, while chaperones put on waders and seine for them.
  • Oysters: Students sort through oyster baskets and learn about why oysters and vertical reef structure are important to benthic biodiversity.
  • Microscope & Magnification Lab: Set up with a wide variety of bay organisms, macro algae, and plankton, students will use microscopes and make their own samples to study epibenthic biodiversity and plankton.
  • Blue Crab Lab: Dive into the world of blue crabs by learning about their adaptations for living in the Bay. If the season allows, we’ll see a live blue crab up close!
  • eDNA & River Herring: Students learn about DNA and River Herring project and extract DNA from apple sauce.
  • Marsh Hike: Students take a short walk to our Marsh Overlook to learn about why marshes are important.
  • Bay Sharks: We’ll learn about how our scientists study sharks that visit the Bay, and why sharks are really our friends!

How many people can SERC accommodate on field trips at one time?

We are only allowed 60 program participants at a time at stations, but you may bring up to 120, and have half do self-directed activities and half do stations, then swap. This means that instead of the usual 4 stations in a day, each set of students would be able to do 2 stations.

Fees

To book a field trip, groups will fill out a form online or contact Karen McDonald at mcdonaldk@si.edu to purchase a pass with a fixed price based on vehicle type/capacity for up to 60 students a day. Entire payment is required at the time of booking, or least 3 weeks prior to your field trip if you are booking a season ahead.

  • Bus type A + B = 10-29 passengers ($450 per bus)
  • Bus type C = 30-50 passengers ($500 per bus)
  • Bus type D = 51-60 passengers ($600 per bus)
  • Bus type CTL (multifunctional smaller bus) = 11-25 passengers ($300 per bus)
  • Vans = 10-15 passengers ($250 per van)

Cars and minivans are rated on the number of individuals (based on the scale above) depending on the total number of students.

Chaperones

If the group has more than each number of students, they should round up. For example, if you have 12 students, round up to 2 chaperones instead of 1.

Students Number of Chaperones Needed
Ratio of adults to children
K-2nd 1:5
3rd-12th 1:10
Special Needs Students 1:5

Daily Schedule

Please pre-divide students into color groups Red, Blue, Green, and Purple with colored dots on name tags. All students with medical issues should be put into the Blue Group (allergies, medications, etc.).

The maximum sub-group size is 15 students. We recommend pre-dividing students so that you can make the most of your time at SERC.

It is up to you how you schedule your arrival/departure, which activities student groups participate in, and when to have lunch (though there is a break daily from 11:30am-12:00pm). Activity times are fixed and will not be adjusted to accommodate the schedules of individual groups.

Start Time End Time Seining Oysters Microscopes 4th station varies based on availability: Marsh, eDNA, Blue Crabs
9:40am 9:50am Daily welcome/introduction
10:00am 10:45am Red Green Purple Blue
10:50am 11:30am Green Red Blue Purple
11:30am 12:00pm Lunch
12:10pm 12:55pm Purple Blue Red Green
1:05pm 1:50pm Blue Purple Green Red
1:50pm 2:00pm Restrooms / Load bus

Please note:

With small groups of 10-19 students, we reserve the right to consolidate stations and offer them only once or twice during the day. We will let the group know when they arrive.

If you arrive late, we can not guarantee that all students will be able to do all the stations. You will only be able to do the number of stations possible in the amount of time remaining for your visit.

Please pre-divide students into color groups Red, Blue, Green, and Purple with colored dots on name tags. All students with medical issues should be put into the Blue Group (allergies, medications, etc.).

Start Time End Time Seining Oysters 3rd Station varies based on availability: Terrapins or Blue Crabs 4th station varies based on availability: Marsh Hike or Bay Sharks
9:40am 9:50am Daily welcome/introduction
10:00am 10:45am Red Green Purple Blue
10:50am 11:30am Green Red Blue Purple
11:30am 12:00pm Lunch
12:10pm 12:55pm Purple Blue Red Green
1:05pm 1:50pm Blue Purple Green Red
1:50pm 2:00pm Restrooms / Load bus

Please note:

With small groups of 10-19 students, we reserve the right to consolidate stations and offer them only once or twice during the day. We will let the group know when they arrive.

If you arrive late, we can not guarantee that all students will be able to do all the stations. You will only be able to do the number of stations possible in the amount of time remaining for your visit.

In case of weather:

  • If there is thunder and lightening, activities are cancelled.
  • If there is light rain, activities will still run.
  • If wind is over “small craft advisory” or unsafe on the docks, then we will move activities accordingly.
  • All cancellations are at the discretion of SERC. We will reschedule if needed.
  • If weather is inclement, we reserve the right to change station locations or change station topics.

Other Information

  • Lunch: We have a picnic pavilion and tables behind the Reed Center. SERC has the right to reserve either of these areas depending on need or weather.
  • Food: Please note that there are no food or beverages available onsite or nearby. You should bring lunches in bags (we suggest lunch containers, boxes, or backpacks, as our squirrels and birds like student lunches too, so you need to protect them!)
  • Suggested list of things to bring: Once you register, we will send you a confirmation and a list of suggested things to bring to make your stay more enjoyable.
  • Student medications and first aid: You are responsible for carrying and managing student medications, and for handling first aid needs.