OdySea Aquarium Curriculum

Guests of OdySea Aquarium follow the journey of a drop of water as it falls from the sky and gently flows into rivers and lakes, winding its way to the shore and down to the vast ocean.

The Aquarium Curriculum follows this journey and is divided into seven sections with the following titles:

Water
Rivers of the World
African Black-Footed Penguins
Bizarre and Beautiful
Hammerhead Sharks
Coral Reefs
Carousel of the Living Sea

Grade levels for students are divided into academic groups and curricular lessons: Preschool-Kindergarten, 1^st-2^nd Grade, 3^rd-5^th Grade, 6^th-8^th Grade and High School.

At each academic grade level, curriculum lessons are designed to meet the state standards and Next Generation Science Standards. Activities are aligned to the standards and include varied levels of difficulty. For example, in an academic group of grades 3rd-5th, there are activities designed for 3rd grade and others suited for 5th grade. Teachers may determine the activities that best meet the need of their students. Activities are flexible to accommodate special needs and gifted students as they may be modified for varying performance levels.

Many of the activities meet the STEM guidelines involving problem solving, investigation, using technology, integration of interdisciplinary instruction and inquiry.

Choose Your Curriculum

In addition to the general curriculum, OdySea Aquarium & Cox Communications have partnered together to present special Cox Curriculum activities for Grades 1-2, 3-4, & 5-6. These activities are noted in the downloads below. Teachers can enter to win a pizza event for their class by completing the activity as a class or having each student complete it individually. The teacher then fills out the entry form located at the bottom of this page.

Pre K-K

Grades 1-2

1^st-2^nd grade curricula include all galleries of OdySea Aquarium: Water, Rivers of the World, African Black-Footed Penguins, Bizarre and Beautiful, Sharks, Coral Reefs and Carousel of the Living Sea.

Water: Students will focus on parts of the water cycle and basic water conservation themes.

Rivers of the World: Students will understand how rivers are formed and the diversity of life around rivers such as Asian Small Clawed Otters, river turtles and trout.

Penguin: Students will understand general penguin adaptations and how to identify African Black-Footed Penguins.

Bizarre and Beautiful: Students will learn about the various adaptations octopus, jellyfish, seahorses, crabs and other bizarre and beautiful animals have to survive.

Sharks: Key vocabulary in the Shark curriculum include cartilage, buoyant, cold- blooded and predator to help students understand shark anatomy and physiology.

Coral Reefs: Students will gain an understanding of coral reef ecosystems and how humans can protect coral reefs.

Carousel of the Living Sea: Students will understand the basic anatomy of what makes a fish a fish and describe characteristics of marine mammals such as seals and sea lions that are found in the Carousel of the Living Sea.

Bizarre and Beautiful 1-2 Carousel 1-2 Coral Reefs 1-2 Penguin 1-2 Rivers 1-2 Sharks 1-2 Water 1-2

Cox Curriculum: Grades 1-2

Grades 3-5

3^rd-5^th grade curricula include all galleries of OdySea Aquarium: Water, Rivers of the World, African Black-Footed Penguins, Bizarre and Beautiful, Sharks, Coral Reefs and Carousel of the Living Sea.

Water: Students will focus on the details of the water cycle as well as natural resources and will be able to identify renewable and nonrenewable resources.

Rivers of the World: Students will be able to describe relationships among living organisms in an environment and discuss water conservation.

Penguin: Students will learn the anatomy and adaptations of penguins and examine environmental factors impacting the endangered African Black-Footed Penguin’s habitat.

Bizarre and Beautiful: Students will explore a wide diversity of marine animals and identify vertebrates and invertebrates such as bizarre and beautiful chambered nautilus, lionfish, lobsters and more.

Sharks: Students will learn the anatomy of a shark and will be able to define key vocabulary such as carnivorous, dermal denticles and Ampullae of Lorenzini as well as focus on the diversity of hammerheads shark species.

Coral Reefs: Students will explain how organisms use camouflage and mimicry to survive in coral reefs and learn the importance of biodiversity.

Carousel of the Living Sea: Students will learn about the adaptations of sea turtles, sea lions, seals and fish.

Bizarre and Beautiful 3-5 Carousel 3-5 Coral Reefs 3-5 Penguin 3-5 Rivers 3-5 Sharks 3-5 Water 3-5

Cox Curriculum: Grades 3-4 Grades 5-6

Grades 6-8

6^th-8^th grade curricula include all galleries of OdySea Aquarium: Water, Rivers of the World, African Black-Footed Penguins, Bizarre and Beautiful, Sharks, Coral Reefs and Carousel of the Living Sea.

Water: Students will explore the impact climate change has on the Earth and develop ideas to resolve the global concern of water pollution.

Rivers of the World: Students will demonstrate knowledge of abiotic and biotic factors surrounding rivers as well as the unique animals that can be found in various river habitats such as Alligator Gar, Asian Small Clawed Otters, Amazon River Dolphins and more.

Penguin: Students will learn about penguin adaptations and hypothesize the growth or decline of the endangered African penguin population through the Black-Footed Penguin curriculum.

Bizarre and Beautiful: Students will be able to classify marine animals based on their phylum: cnidarian, arthropod and mollusk (cephalopods) and analyze symbiotic relationships among various marine animals.

Sharks: Students will understand the anatomy of sharks and their importance in the ocean’s food chain, highlighting shark conservation.

Coral Reef: Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the diversity and importance of coral reefs and describe coral bleaching.

Carousel of the Living Sea: Students will understand the structure and function of fish, sea turtles, seals and sea lions and will compare and contrast biomes.

Bizarre and Beautiful 6-8 Carousel 6-8 Coral Reefs 6-8 Penguin 6-8 Rivers 6-8 Sharks 6-8 Water 6-8

Cox Curriculum: Grades 5-6

Grades 9-12

9^th-12^th grade curricula include both in-class and independent assignments focusing on Water, Rivers of the World and Coral Reefs. Lessons for the classroom include The Water Cycle, The Importance of Rivers and Coral Reef Explorer. The independent assignment to complete at OdySea Aquarium is called Water World. An optional independent project is the Arizona Wetlands Project.

Arizona Wetlands 9-12 Aquarium Experience 9-12 Coral Reef Explorer 9-12 Importance of Rivers 9-12 Water World 9-12