Tour Descriptions
Self-Guided Tour
- Explore aquariums, shell collections, and other marine-science themed exhibits.
- Free - Please ask for touch tank assistance.
Guided Tour
- Tour of the lab, invertebrate specimen touch tank, scavenger hunt/dichotomous key exercise.
- $3.00/student - All Grade Levels
- Duration: 1-2 hours (depending on size of group)
- Number of participants: 8-90 students
- For larger groups, additional activities will be added (e.g., marine debris presentation, watershed model, monarch migration game).
Beach Ecology Walk
- Walk along the beach from the Coastal Studies Lab to the South Padre Island jetties (approx. 1.5 miles round trip) while learning about our dunes, pollinators, coastal wildlife, bird migrations, and marine habitats. Includes guided tour.
- $5.00/student - All Grade Levels
- Duration: 1.5-2.5 hours (depending on size of group)
- Number of participants: 8-90 students
Robotics Tour
- Overview of innovative equipment used for current research at UTRGV. Includes guided tour.
- $4.00/student - All Grade Levels
- Duration: 1-2 hours (depending on size of group)
- Number of participants: 8-90 students
- For larger groups, additional activities will be added (e.g., marine debris presentation, watershed model, monarch migration game).
Seaweed Press
- Pressing plants is a historical way to preserve and identify various species. Pressed seaweed specimens will be mailed to your school once they are completely dry. Includes guided tour.
- $5.00/student - All Grade Levels
- Duration: 1.5-2 hours (depending on size of group)
- Number of participants: 8-90 students
- For larger groups, additional activities will be added (e.g., marine debris presentation, watershed model, monarch migration game)
Fish Printing
- “Gyotaku,” a Japanese word for “fish rubbing,” is an art form used by fisherman to document their catch. We provide all the materials, including the fish! Includes guided tour.
- $12.00/student - 3rd grade and up only
- Duration: 2-3 hours (depending on size of group)
- Number of participants: 8-60 students
Squid Dissection
- Learn about the anatomy and physiology of the Atlantic Brief Squid through a hands-on dissection. Includes guided tour.
- $10.00/student - 3rd grade and up only
- Duration: 1.5-2.5 hours (depending on size of group)
- Number of participants: 8-90 students
- For larger groups, additional activities will be added (e.g., marine debris presentation, watershed model, monarch migration game).
Shark Dissection
- Learn about the anatomy and physiology of the Dogfish Shark through a hands-on dissection. Includes guided tour.
- $12.00/student - 3rd grade and up only
- Duration: 1.5-2.5 hours (depending on size of group)
- Number of participants: 8-90 students
- For larger groups, additional activities will be added (e.g., marine debris presentation, watershed model, monarch migration game).
Sea Cucumber Dissection
- Learn about the anatomy and physiology of the Sea Cucumber through a hands-on dissection. Includes guided tour.
- $5.00/student - 6th grade and up only
- Duration: 1.5-2.5 hours (depending on size of group)
- Number of participants: 8-90 students
- For larger groups, additional activities will be added (e.g., marine debris presentation, watershed model, monarch migration game).
Sea Urchin Dissection
- Learn about the anatomy and physiology of the Atlantic Purple Sea Urchin through a hands-on dissection. Includes guided tour.
- $5.00/student - 6th grade and up only
- Duration: 1.5-2.5 hours (depending on size of group)
- Number of participants: 8-90 students
- For larger groups, additional activities will be added (e.g., marine debris presentation, watershed model, monarch migration game).
Marine Floating Classroom
- Marine discovery cruise on the Laguna Madre Bay aboard one of our Research Vessel Classrooms
- Use plankton nets, trawls, sediment samplers, and water quality probes to collect
- specimens and gain an understanding of marine biology research
- Onboard touch tank
- Digital microscope and monitor for viewing plankton and invertebrates
- Common sightings of dolphins, shorebirds, and other marine critters
- Onboard presentations about the Laguna Madre and its wildlife will be led by experienced
- educator-naturalists
- $500.00/group of 15/two tour max per day - 4th grade and up
- Duration: 2 hours
- Number of participants: 15 people maximum (including chaperones