Add one part science to three parts Pacific Coast and you’ve got the perfect formula for a science class trip. Join Explorica at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Yosemite National Park and Point Reyes National Seashore to discover how easily science and fun go hand in hand.
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1. First, experience life under the sea—without getting wet.
As one of the most ecologically advanced aquariums in the world, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is a major Pacific Coast must-see. You’ll find seahorses, bluefin tuna, stingrays and sea otters swimming in water pumped in from the Pacific Ocean. So life at the aquarium is always as fresh for the fish as their natural habitat. And with one tank that’s a massive 33-feet high (and the first in the world to grow California Sea Kelp) you’ll feel like you’re swimming with the fishies at the bottom of the ocean.
2. Make a must-do trip to Yosemite National Park.
But because it’s roughly the size of Rhode Island—at some 1189 square miles—you may not get to do it all! The park was designated a World Heritage Site back in 1984, and it’s easy to see why. It’s bursting with Giant sequoia groves, alpine woodland and coniferous forests. It’s also teeming with fauna from the spotted owl, the mule deer to the northern alligator lizard. And with spectacular granite cliffs, breathtaking waterfalls and winding clear water streams surrounding you, this is the place for making ecological education entrancing.
3. Visit the Point Reyes penisula
Separated from the rest of mainland California by a rift zone is the Point Reyes peninsula that boasts an incredible seashore and trails to hike, making it a real Pacific Coast must-do. Because its soils and bedrock are different from those on the mainland, Point Reyes is abounding with diverse vegetation (it’s even home to some 50 plant species protected by the U.S. federal government). While you’re hiking, look out for northern elephant seal along the sprawling coastline!
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