Hitting the Road: Monterey Bay Aquarium!

Yesterday, April 6th, nine Zeummasters were fortunate enough to be able to go on a field trip to The Monterey Bay Aquarium and get to know a few teens over there.

After the two hour drive to Monterey (Perry drives like a grandma) we checked in at the Aquarium and were escorted to a room in the back of the building
(because we were V.I.P.s). We walked into a room filled with fish tanks and life-size replicas of sea otters and turtles and other wild life.

Once we settled in a little we got to meet the teens of W.A.T.C.H., Watsonville Area Teens Conserving Habitats. We played games where we got to know the teens more and basically "break the ice.". Getting to know everybody was pretty cool and after a few games we felt like we knew each other pretty well.

After the games, the Zeummasters talked to the group about what we do at Zeum. The educators sat back while we did the talking. We showed them our lovely blog that we write in religiously - got it up on a big projector - and the year-long project we're working on. I talked to them about the personal histories project, and the "what does home mean to you" project. I really believe that the Zeummasters made a great presentation. I didn't feel nervous at all.

Then the W.A.T.C.H. teens introduced their program and talked about what they're working on. We got to learn that they are a group of teens raising awareness in the Watsonville Area about the habitats around them. They all go to the same school, a school set in the middle of numerous wetlands.

Their program is cool, because they get to go out into the wetlands, dunes, etc. and do research. Some of their presentations won awards and a group was even able to go to Washington D.C.. Just listening to them, you could tell they were very involved with their projects and the environment they live in.

After their presentation we got to do some art! What we did together was a reflection of our programs, from how we've grown or what we love about the programs. During the project we got to interact even more with the other teens. In my group, we talked about colleges we're interested in, what we liked about our program, our backgrounds, they were all very outgoing people.

And then, the aquarium TOUR, led by their teens. The people I was with were cool. The Aquarium is such a big place, we actually got lost a few times. We got to see the sea otters, the penguins, and the jellyfish. The teens knew their way around so we got to see a lot. The Aquarium is so much bigger than Zeum. It was cool to be in a different environment for a day.

After the tour was over we got to show the W.A.T.C.H. teens a game we love to play at Zeum. Of course, the winners were both Zeum Masters. After the game, we had to say our good-byes, and end a great day.

The experience overall was a great one. To be in a different environment and interact with another teen group was pretty cool. They're all so passionate about the environment and conserving the areas in their community, just like we're passionate about our art and reaching out to the community. At Zeum, we're all about art and technology, but to see a place dedicated to preserving wild life and show how much the world is at risk from the things we're doing to it, it was eye-opening. The teens were great, they were so welcoming and able to help us with everything we were doing that day. I loved the day, and would love to do it again! =]

Click HERE to see the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Live Penguin Webcam!