Dr. Frey-Monell

Rosary’s APES and Oceanography classes pictured outside the Long Beach Aquarium this Monday.

On Monday, Oct. 21, Rosary’s AP Environmental Science and Oceanography classes took a day-long field trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach! As one of the lucky students who attended, I thought I’d share my experience and that of my peers.

Before I begin, I’d like to say that this field trip was truly a wonderful opportunity. I actually got to learn some new things and see what I’ve learned in class in real life. The past few weeks, Mrs. Grasz’s Oceanography classes have been learning about the way wind and water work, as well as about numerous marine animals like otters and sea turtles. Simultaneously, Dr. Parmar’s APES students have been focused on climate and terrestrial biodiversity and the human impact on the climate. 

During the trip, both classes had a worksheet to fill out, which was provided to the students at the beginning of the day. 

In the morning, our group of 55 met our teachers at Rosary’s front gate, and we took a bus over to the aquarium. What was especially great about this trip was that we got free reign to go wherever we wanted, so long as we stayed in the aquarium with at least one buddy.

Some of my favorite exhibits were the interactive ones, where we got to touch sand sharks, stingrays, bat rays and moon jellies. Charlotte Ritter ‘26 shared my excitement, saying, “My favorite exhibit that I saw today was the jellyfish exhibit, and the best part was being able to touch the moon jellies!”

However, I think the best moment of my day was watching the marine mammals! I loved the cute and curious sea otters and the active seals and sea lions. I got to experience the otter feeding and training presentation. Watching the otters crack clams on the rocks and flip onto their bellies to eat was so interesting. I learned that otters eat 20-30 % of their body weight every day to keep warm. I think my brother needs to start using that excuse for the obscene amount of food he eats every day as a Servite freshman.

Junior Gigi Simmons had a different favorite, explaining, “The aquarium was very interesting and fun. My favorite part of it was drawing an ocean animal and it coming to life on the big screen for everyone to see.” The aquarium had a more unique technological experience where anyone could color in a marine animal on an individual iPad then after they were done it would swim out onto a big screen in front of them for all to see. 

Mrs. Grasz thought the day was a unique academic experience: “For Oceanography students, the trip to the Long Beach Aquarium is like a preview of coming attractions for what we will be learning in class. Whether it’s coral bleaching, knowing the difference between seals and sea lions or understanding fish adaptations, these are ALL topics we will be covering this year in our class. In addition, it’s also an opportunity to increase our appreciation for the diversity of God’s creation!”

Overall, the day was success. Avery Rabago ‘25 shares, “It was really cool to be able to see all of the interesting animals I have been learning about in class.” I hope the classes get to experience this again next year!