Student groups have a wealth of life, earth, and space science resources waiting for them in Orlando and Tampa. World-class science attractions, museums, and hands-on learning programs will meet and exceed your classroom curriculum. Combine this with a Disney youth education series and you have one of the best science tours in the US.
Orlando:
In Orlando, your group of students can glide through the wetlands on a beautiful Florida wildlife tour on the famous Boggy Creek airboat rides. These airboat tours begin with a leisurely ride through a natural canal observing exotic birds, turtles, and Florida alligators in their own natural environment. Then your group will fly like the wind into the swamps experiencing the incredible sensation of an airboat ride traveling up to 45 miles per hour.
At Forever Florida, your group will experience a 4,700-acre eco-ranch and wildlife conservation area that encompasses nine distinct ecosystems, beautifully preserved just as nature intended. Your group of students will experience natural streams, forests, grasses, wetlands, and learn about Forever Florida’s wide range of wildlife, including alligators, black bears, white-tailed deer, and the endangered Florida panther.
Just a short 45 minute drive east of Orlando, your group of students will experience the science of astronomy. The Kennedy Space Center has told the story for more than 40 years of how the United States built a space program that launched men to the moon, orbited satellites that improved our lives, and sent probes into distant space to solve the mysteries of the cosmos. Being the primary home to the space shuttles Atlantis, Columbia, Discovery and Endeavor, Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station are the center of space operations for the country. Your group will be able to see exhibits on space travel, walk through a space shuttle, watch a movie at the IMAX Theater, see the Astronaut Memorial, and visit the rocket park.
At the Walt Disney World® Resort, your group will experience the Disney Youth Education Series science program. Your students will learn about G-force motion and test the laws of physics, learn and understand the science and physics behind some of Disney’s attractions, and learn about the oceans, wildlife, and animal behavior. Your group can also investigate the world of animals in a real and working scientific laboratory, as well as in the field; Put your skills in the art of animation to the test, and much more! Your group will remember and build on these hands-on adventures for years to come.
Tampa:
At the Florida Aquarium in Tampa, they think the ocean is amazing, and so are you! The Florida Aquarium exhibits are designed to show the journey of a drop of water from a Florida freshwater spring to the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. There are many exhibits including large simulated wetlands, a simulated beach, and a coral reef community housed in a 500,000 gallon tank.
Voted Best Zoo in the US by Parents Magazine, Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo features more than 2,000 animals, interactive exhibits, attractions and shows. The zoo also has a Zoo School which is a 17,400 square foot hands-on learning facility that houses a Lesson Hall, 13 classrooms, and a Resource Center. Zoo School programs are designed to be fun, innovative, imaginative, and investigative for all ages. The Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa is dedicated to serving as an educational resource for your group.
The Tampa Museum of Science and Industry, affectionately known as MOSI, is the largest science center in the South at over 300,000 square feet. In addition to hosting Florida’s only IMAX Dome Theater, MOSI also features Kids in Charge !, the newest and largest children’s science center in the United States. A group trip to MOSI brings science to life by providing hands-on learning experiences that are an extension of your classroom. Educational programs, IMAX movies, interactive exhibits, and the new Saunders Planetarium support its curriculum and enhance scientific knowledge while stimulating student interest in science and technology.
Overall, Central Florida is arguably one of the best educational science destinations in the US and offers many earth, life, and space science resources to scientific groups. Combine that with some fun at the theme parks, you, as the teacher, will give your science group lasting memories.