Sea School November 17, 2008

With the busy holiday season fast-approaching, Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration is offering a special four-week session of Sea School, beginning November 17 and 18. Available throughout the year, this popular program is usually offered in eight-week sessions.

Open to 3- to 5-year-olds, Sea School offers pre-schoolers an opportunity to experience the exciting world of marine biology. The two-hour class takes place twice a week (Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday) and includes hands-on activities, creative arts and crafts, visits from marine animals and the people who work with them and lessons in science, math and literacy. The curriculum constantly changes, so that children who enroll in additional sessions continue to learn something new and remain enthusiastic.

Classes take place in the dynamic Sea School classroom, which includes a terrarium housing two turtles, pretend play area featuring a mini-lab, reading area, sensory table filled with water, sand and other materials, computer and parent resource library.

Parents of children in the program receive a weekly e-newsletter that highlights what children learned during the previous week, as well as ways parents can reinforce Sea School lessons at home.

“Sea School is a great way to prepare children for other pre-school programs or kindergarten,” said Mary Beth Sweeney, director of early childhood programs at Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration. “This four-week session presents the perfect opportunity for parents to try out the program with their children and see if it is a good fit.”

Mondays and Wednesdays, November 17 to December 15, or Tuesdays and Thursdays, November 18 to December 16, from 9:15 to 11:15 a.m. or 1 to 3 p.m.

Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration, 55 Coogan Blvd., Mystic, CT 06355

For more information on the program, call Mary Beth Sweeney at (860) 572-5955, ext. 303. To make a reservation, please call (860) 572-5955, ext. 520.

Official Website: http://www.mysticaquarium.org