By Hank Gerba and Eli Haims

The Oceanography and Marine Biology class took a field trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific and spent time on a boat to apply the concepts learned in class.

The 19-person class went on a behind-the-scenes tour at the aquarium during where they learned about the different species it houses.

The class had time to visit the displays of the animals that they had learned about throughout the year.

“It was a great way to see the animals and concepts that we have been learning about,” Megan Hilliard ’10 said.

The trip occurs annually. The class also took a field trip on a boat in the Long Beach Harbor a week before.

On March 9, the class went on a multi-story yacht that left from Rainbow Marina, which is also in Long Beach.

“We stayed in the breakwater and conducted a series of little experiments,” Mattie Calvert ’10 said.

These experiments included collecting plankton and fish in nets in order to study them.

After separating the fish, they studied each of the species and related it to what they had learned in class.

The class also collected a sample of mud which they separated and classified, putting their classroom knowledge into practice.