SEAS Info | Cape May/Wildwood | Sandy Hook Bay
On Board Activities
Crabbing
Students will work in groups to bait and set their own crab traps at the beginning of the trip and retrieve the traps at the end. A little team-building is thrown into the mix with a competition to see which group catches more crabs. We’ll have some fun with this, but with commercial fisheries at the forefront of many environmental debates, there are some very important lessons to be learned here too.
Trawl Net
Students will use a trawl net to collect live marine specimens. A handful of student volunteers help deploy the net and everyone on board helps to pull it up. What better way to learn about hard manual labor than to actually be forced into it, right? Once “the catch” is on board, it is sorted and the students will get an interesting lesson about each of the specimens. A variety of crustaceans, mollusks, echinoderms, fish, and algae are always a likely catch. This is one of the highlights of the trip.
Plankton Studies
You’ll be amazed by what you see in one drop of water. Our instructors will use microscopes and video equipment to introduce your group to the amazing world of Plankton inside our “Plankton Lab”. Students will get a brief overview from instructors then divide into smaller groups to view and identify planktonic organisms.
Live Animal Touch Tanks
There’s no better way to learn about sea creatures than to hold them. The instructors will introduce the students to a variety of live marine organisms and give them the opportunity to touch them while learning about them.
Horseshoe Crabs
Although these amazing creatures have been around for a long time, they are certainly today’s hot topic. Students will be enlightened to the importance of these amazing “living fossils” while learning about their adaptations, anatomy, life cycles, and more.
Highlights
Programs take place on a boat. Educational activities are hands-on and all participants, including students, chaperones, and teachers get involved with the collecting and learning process.
Location
The cruise leaves from Keyport, NJ and will take the group into the beautiful waters of Raritan and Sandy Hook Bay. The boat does not travel far from shore so views of Sandy Hook Lighthouse and the Gateway National Recreation Area are a bonus.
Instructors
All trips are led by experienced Marine Biologists and Educators.
Time
Three hour trip. The morning trip runs from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. The afternoon trip runs from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Please call if you have time constraints.
Student #s
We can accommodate groups with up to 115 total people. It is recommended to not exceed 80 students.
Directions
The boat is located at 1 American Legion Drive, Keyport, NJ 07735 only 1 mile from the Garden State Parkway exit 117. Click for directions.
Parking
There is plenty of parking for busses and extra vehicles directly in front of the dock.
Boat
We will be using a boat named The Captain John which is owned and operated by CJFC, LLC, a fully insured charter boat company. The vessel is U.S. Coast guard inspected and certified and is extremely safe with ample seating, shelter, and two small bathrooms.
Curriculum Based
Topics covered in our program are based on core curriculum content standards set forth by the New Jersey Department of Education and helps to reinforce science standard 5.5 (strands a, b, c) and standard 5.10 (strand a, b).
Grades
Appropriate for grades 2-12.
Please call (609) 368-1211 or email Kaitlin Gannon at kgannon@wetlandsinstitute.org for pricing and availability.
