Life Science

Class descriptions

Earth and Space Science

Class descriptions

Earth and Space Science Classes

Rockin' Out with Fossils New!

(Formerly Read a Rock)
4^th Grade
Take the long journey through geologic time as rocks and fossils form the Earth’s crust. Model the rock cycle and discover the patterns of fossil formation and solve the mystery behind fossils found in San Diego County.
4-ESS2: Earth Systems: Process that Shape the Earth

Water and Human Impact New!

5^th Grade
Learn about the Earth’s most precious resource—water—and how humans affect the environment. Participate in an inquiry-based oil spill cleanup and become stewards of Balboa Park.
5-ESS3: Earth and Human Activity

Life Science Classes

Coast to Cactus Series New!

We have a series of grade level classes based on the exhibition Coast to Cactus in Southern California (formerly Habitat Journey class).

1^st grade: Desert and Chaparral New!
Explore how plants and animals survive in the desert and chaparral habitats. Make a “Super Desert Survivor” animal and experience a few tricks from plants trying to stay alive under the hot sun.
1-LS1: Structure and Function

2^nd Grade: Habitats of San Diego New!
Find out how the plants and animals in San Diego habitats survive some of El Niño’s extreme weather events, from flash floods to wildfires and snowstorms.
2-LS4: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

3^rd Grade: Survivor (Now ‘We Come to You’ also)
Watch how the habitats of San Diego have changed over time. Make observations and inferences and construct arguments about how these changes occurred. Model how animals with special adaptations survive when the environment changes.
3-LS3: Inheritance and Variation of Traits: Life Cycles and Traits
3-LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

4^th Grade: Mountains and Wetlands New!
Come experience life in the mountains and wetlands. Build a wetland and experiment with how wetland plants contribute to this unique and vital ecosystem. Using inquiry, experience how the shape of a bird beak determines what foods that bird eats.
4-LS1: Structure and Function                                  

5^th Grade: Decomposers New!
Become F.B.I. investigators (fungus, bacteria, and invertebrates) and “break it down” with the decomposers found in the habitats of San Diego. Model the complex relationships between plants, animals, and decomposers.
5-LS1: Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems  

Amazing Arthropods

Kindergarten–2^nd grade
Arthropods are interdependent on all life and serve an important role on Earth. Compare the life cycles and body structures of insects, arachnids, and crustaceans.
K-LS1- From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Process
1-LS1: Structure and Function
2-LS4: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

Cetacean Sensation

1st grade
Whales have many adaptations for living in an ocean. Examine the structure and function of our ocean cousins and discover how these large sea mammals eat, breathe and travel compared to land mammals. Touch an authentic whale specimen and tune in to the use of sound waves for echolocation and communication.
1-LS1: Structure and Function

Spineless Wonders

3^rd and 4^th grade

Come explore how these spineless creatures survive in the Earth’s harshest environments. Find out what it’s like to be part of an ant colony or survive in the chilly ocean waters of a tide pool and then the scorching sun.
3-LS2-1: Inheritance and variation of Traits: Life Cycles
3-LS2-1: Social Interactions and Group Behavior
3-LS3-2: Variation of Traits
3-LS4-3: Adaptation
4-LS1-1: Structure and Function
4-LS1-2: Information Processing

Other Classes

Native Land, Native People

Kindergarten – 5^th Grade
Learn how the Kumeyaay Nation relied on their skills and expertise to survive in the San Diego area. Grind acorns for flour, scrape yucca leaves for fiber, and practice your skills to live and thrive and experience what life was like in the 1300s.