The Belize Whale Shark Expedition - The Ocean Adventure

How would you feel if a giant shark the size of a school bus was about to run into you? In this presentation we have your students join us as we search for the underwater feeding grounds of the largest sharks on the planet — WHALE SHARKS! A look at shark biology and behavior and Whale Sharks in particular. Here we bring our close-up underwater encounters with Whale Sharks to life with this exciting, action-packed marine science adventure! The program begins with an introduction to sharks in general and Whale Sharks in particular. Students are chosen from the audience to demonstrate how sharks are adapted to their environment. Specimens and models, and HUGE Whale Shark jaws are used to help demonstrate how Whale Sharks are different from all of the other sharks and bony fish (We find Dory!). Finally, (if time allows) student helpers assist in showing how big sharks are, from the smallest to the largest, a few in between. After the demonstrations, undersea explorers, Wayne and Karen Brown, then take your students on their thrilling adventure in search of whale sharks in the Central American country of Belize, along the Belize Barrier Reef, via an exciting and fast-paced, high-definition digital video presentation. In this HD video presentation your students join the Browns on the expedition boat where they meet the captain and crew. As they accompany Wayne and Karen on the expedition in search of whale sharks your students meet animals that are part of the marine ecosystem and learn how these animals relate to the whale sharks as part of the ocean food chain. The highlight of the presentation is being surrounded by 25-foot long, dive bombing Whale Sharks! After the multi-image presentation, your students come literally face-to-face with a whale shark when they meet "Wanda", our 25-foot long, inflatable, female, whale shark! If time allows, at the end of the presentation a brief time is set aside to answer your students' questions. NOTE: THE OCEAN ADVENTURE is more than just a live presentation. Our nationally-acclaimed school assembly programs are designed to complement school curricula. Each themed program teaches science concepts established by State and National Science Content Standards. Included teacher’s curriculum guide and student workbook provides lots of hands-on, cross-curricular classroom activities to help teach everything from geography and social studies to science and fine arts.