Please note: We are currently only accepting field trip requests for our City Island campus through May 2025. Details for field trips at Mote’s new Science Education Aquarium will be available in early 2025.
Onsite Field Trips
Mote Field Trip Highlights
- All Mote Explorations are aligned with Florida State Science Standards to help students meet requirements on state assessment tests.
- Experienced Mote Educators lead your field trip program, giving your students access to Mote’s world-class marine research and helping them learn science concepts while inspiring wonder about the world around us.
- We create a custom agenda for your school based on your class size, arrival and departure time, and options selected during registration.
- Programs are one hour in length for kindergarten through college/adult, and 30 minutes for preschool groups. We recommend groups plan to spend 3-4 hours at Mote for their program, picnic lunch, and touring of our facilities.
- Admission to Mote Marine Aquarium and Marine Mammal Center is included.
- Short on time and looking to book a self-guided tour only? Click here!
- Book an outreach or virtual program before or after your visit to enhance your field trip experience. Click here!
Please review the following to help you plan and prep for your trip:
Mote Field Trip Policies
Mote Field Trip FAQs
2024-25 Field Trip Flyer
Want Mote to come to you?
Check out our Mote in the Classroom options, including outreaches, our award-winning Mote SEA Trek programs, and more!
STEM Explorations
STEM Explorations are indoor programs for up to 25 students per session. A limit of 5 chaperones may attend per session due to classroom space. Based on your total student size, we will create an agenda that splits your group into sets of 20-25 students who will rotate through their STEM Exploration and Aquarium and Marine Mammal Center tours.
Group Size: A minimum of 10 student/youth participants
Chaperones Required: One chaperone for every 10 students, required and admitted free. Teachers and staff are considered chaperones and are counted in the total chaperone count on field trip day. Additional chaperones are $20 each, see request form for more information.
Cost: $18 for students (Mote Memberships are not valid for school or camp visits including field trips and self-guided tours.)
Note: School and community groups are not permitted to participate in either the virtual reality (VR) cinema experience or Fossil Creek activities during their visit. Neither are included in the admission price nor are they equipped to serve groups.
Contact: educate@mote.org or 941-388-4441 x351
Smiling with Sharks Smile and say “fins!” Learn about sharks, their teeth and feeding habits with Mote educators through stories and games. Pre-K scientists will work on fine motor skills and develop matching skills while exploring the important role sharks play in the food chain.
Totally Turtle Tales Dive into the adventurous life of sea turtle hatchlings! During this turtle-y fun program, Pre-K students will mimic animal behaviors while learning about the life of a turtle through song, stories and role-playing.
Become A Scientist Students will investigate what it is truly like to be a scientist. We will transform your students into little marine scientists to discover a mystery animal. During this time, students will learn about the different tools and methods used by scientists.
Home Sweet Habitat Students will compare and contrast different ocean habitats including coral reefs, estuaries, and the deep sea. During this program students will use their senses and observation skills to learn about adaptations needed to survive in these habitats.
Our Dolphin Neighbors Scientists have been studying the local resident bottlenose dolphin population for more than 40 years. Through hands-on activities, students will discover what scientists are learning about the communication, feeding behavior, and human interactions with our dolphin neighbors.
Angelfish to Zebra Shark: All About Fish During this interactive clue based program students will explore the characteristics of fish and special adaptations fish have. In the comfort of our Mote classroom students will use the scientific process to determine what the mystery animal might be. After the program students can explore the aquarium to find new fish friends.
Droplet Dash: An Essential Journey Take a journey with Mote as we learn about the importance of water on earth. This hand-on STEM lab examines the continuous movement of H2O within Earth and the atmosphere, while explaining how humans and animals impact our oceans. Through several small lab experiments, student scientists will explore this complex system known as the water cycle.
Ocean Problem Solver During this STEM-based program students will learn why the ocean is important and how humans affect it. Students will explore Blue Holes recently discovered right here in our local oceans. Then using the engineering process, they will work in teams on solutions, building a model to collect samples deep in the ocean to learn more about these newly discovered features.
Adventures in Acoustics Ever wonder what it sounds like under the ocean? Students will explore how sound is utilized by dolphins and fish in the ocean! After reviewing how acoustics are measured, students will learn how and why marine scientists study underwater sounds and the important role they play in ocean conservation. Through team collaboration, your class will simulate Mote and the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program’s bioacoustic research and present their claims based on evidence. Join us as we take a deep dive into the sounds of the sea!
Shark Scientist Students will become Mote shark scientists for the day in this interactive classroom program. They will learn the importance of shark research and the different techniques used by our scientists. Students will participate in a shark tagging simulation and present their findings to the class.
Spineless Sea Students will dive into marine taxonomy and various characteristics of invertebrates to learn what it takes to survive in the sea without a backbone. To apply their newfound knowledge, students will learn proper dissection techniques investigating squid in small groups.
Toxin Trackers Join Mote Educators to explore how human activity and natural causes can have both negative and positive impacts on our oceans. During this lab-based program, student scientists will investigate ocean habitats and limiting factors while learning about Mote’s Ecotoxicology Department through observations of real science techniques and hands-on experiments.
Technology in Shark Research Students will explore the importance of technology in research, specifically shark research. Through hands-on activities with iPads and actual shark data, students will become comfortable with understanding and interpreting data as well as using technologies used by Mote scientists.
Turtle Tech Students will learn to review and analyze real turtle data. Working in groups, students will track a turtle and determine trends, habits or behaviors in the data. They will become comfortable with investigating data as well as presenting their findings and their conclusions.
For students at the college level, Mote Education is pleased to offer special internship presentations, customized programming and self-guided tours. Please use the button below to complete a request or email educate@mote.org to further discuss options.
Field Explorations
Field Explorations are outdoor, water-based programs for up to 30 students per session. There is no chaperone limit for Field Explorations. Programs are one hour, except for preschool programs which are 30 minutes in length. All Explorations include admission to Mote Aquarium and Marine Mammal Center. Find out what to bring and what to wear here.
Group Size: A minimum of 10 student/youth participants
Chaperones Required: One chaperone for every 10 students, required and admitted free. Teachers and staff are considered chaperones and are counted in the total chaperone count on field trip day. Additional chaperones are $20 each, see request form for more information.
Cost: $18 for students (Mote Memberships are not valid for school or camp visits including field trips and self-guided tours.)
Note: School and community groups are not permitted to participate in either the virtual reality (VR) cinema experience or Fossil Creek activities during their visit. Neither are included in the admission price nor are they equipped to serve groups.
Exploring the Bay Come get wet and explore beneath the waters of Sarasota Bay. During this program we will use dip nets to find and learn about local critters in the bay. Pre-K program is 30 minutes, K-2 is one-hour. Students must arrive water-ready.
Field Sampling Techniques Students will be learning the importance of estuaries while collecting organisms that live in Sarasota Bay. During this experience-based learning program, students will get wet while wading in the bay, learning techniques for collecting data that later can be analyzed. This is a one-hour program. Students must come water-ready.
+Field Sampling is available to College and Adult Learners. Experience is adjusted to be grade level appropriate.
For any questions, please reach out to: educate@mote.org or phone 941-388-4441 x351.
STEM & Field Combo Exploration
Group Size: A minimum of 10 student/youth participants
Chaperones Required: One chaperone for every 10 students, required and admitted free. Teachers and staff are considered chaperones and are counted in the total chaperone count on field trip day. Additional chaperones are $20 each, see request form for more information.
Cost: $30 for students (Mote Memberships are not valid for school or camp visits including field trips and self-guided tours.)
Note: School and community groups are not permitted to participate in either the virtual reality (VR) cinema experience or Fossil Creek activities during their visit. Neither are included in the admission price nor are they equipped to serve groups.
Grades 6 – 12
For groups that want to dive even deeper into Mote’s research, schedule a STEM & Field Combo Exploration. Join us for a lab program of your choice then head out into the water to learn the same techniques our scientists use in the field. This option is for groups who are able to spend more time at Mote. Your students will experience two hours of Mote education programming as well as admission to Mote Aquarium and Marine Mammal Center. We recommend planning to be at Mote for at least 3.5 hours (not counting lunch) for this option.
For any questions, please reach out to: educate@mote.org or phone 941-388-4441 x351.
