A teacher led tour allows your group to explore the aquarium at your own pace. Groups are scheduled to avoid overcrowding and to make sure your visit is a memorable one.

A teacher led tour allows your group to explore the aquarium at your own pace. Groups are scheduled to avoid overcrowding and to make sure your visit is a memorable one.

Private Tour. Accompany an Aquarium educator to sneak a peek behind the scenes of different areas in the Aquarium. Visitors will see the exhibits and all the systems that keep them working, from a side normally viewed by staff only.
Closed toe shoes are required.

Ages: 8 and up - Children 12 and under must be accompanied by a paying adult.

$15.30 per Person

Take a short visit behind the 285,000-gallon Graveyard of the Atlantic Exhibit.  Peek into the dive locker, learn about an out-of-site acclimation holding area, and get an overhead view of the largest exhibit in the Aquarium.

Closed toe shoes are required.

Ages: 8 and up

$13.60 per Person

Students will accompany aquarium staff for a hands-on, get wet learning experience on the shore. This program takes place at Coquina Beach in south Nags Head, and groups can meet aquarium staff on site. Students will collect animals in the surf zone (temperatures permitting), participate in a marine debris clean up, and focus on the physical and ecological characteristics of the beach. Topics may include waves, tides, sea turtles, sand dunes, beach vegetation, erosion, and others on request. All collected animals will be identified and released.
Closed toe water shoes are required.

NCES:  3.E.2,  3.E.2.1, 3.L.2,  3.L.2.2,  4.L.1,  4.L.1.1,  4.L.1.3,  5.L.2,  5.L.2.1,  5.L.2.2
Grades: 3rd and up.

$8 per Person

Join aquarium staff for a fun-filled learning experience in this catch and release program in a nearby salt marsh. We will travel to Oregon Inlet with nets and buckets to search for and collect some of the many animals that inhabit the marsh! Learn about an estuary, the sound, tides, and about the dynamic ecosystem at the marsh. All collected animals will be identified and released back into the sound.
This program must be scheduled around low tide.

Closed toe water shoes are required.

NCES:  3.E.2,  3.E.2.1,  3.L.2.2,  4.L.1,  4.L.1.1,  4.L.1.3,  5.L.2,  5.L.2.1,  5.L.2.2
Grades: 3rd and up.

$8 per Person

Come to this program prepared to test your luck crabbing! Students will learn some basic biology of the blue crab, experience line crabbing first hand from the Aquarium's soundside pier, and have the opportunity to come face to face with these feisty crustaceans.
Closed toe shoes are required.

NCES:  K.L.1.1, 1.L.1.1, 1.L.1.3, 1.L.2.2, 2.L.1.1, & 4.L.1.1

Grades: K and Up.
We request 1 chaperone for every 5 students.

$12.75 per Person

Cast your line and learn the basics needed to catch your first fish! Assemble tackle, bait your hook, identify fish species, and practice catch-and-release techniques. Bring your patience as we try our luck fishing from our Soundside Pier.  Closed toe shoes are required.

Grades: K and Up.
We request 1 chaperone for every 5 students.

$12.75 per Person

Meet inside the pavilion at the Nags Head Woods Nature Preserve to talk about nocturnal animals or aspects of astronomy for the first portion of the class. Common themes are the moon, bats, owls, moths and spiders. After the inside portion, we will go outside to hike some of the trails of Nags Head Woods at night.

For all grades.
Children 16 and under must be accompanied by a paying adult.

$7 per Person

Students will investigate the external and internal anatomy of a squid in this introductory dissection. Taxonomy, mollusks, and by-catch will be additional topics discussed. Each lab lasts approximately 1.5 hours.  A minimum of 10 students (or the equivalent fee of $100) is needed to hold a class.  Maximum group size = 30 students.

NCES:  4.L.1,  4.L.1.1,   5.L.2.  &  5.L.2.2
For grades 4 and up.

$10 per Student
No Charge for Teachers

To schedule a Squid Dissection Program for your group, please contact the Special Activities Coordinator at 252-475-2327.

Students take an up-close look at a dogfish shark to investigate external and internal shark anatomy. An introduction includes the use of video, biofacts, and other mediums. Students will work in groups of four to dissect a shark specimen. Additional specimens can be provided at an additional cost. Each lab lasts approximately 2 hours.  A minimum of 10 students (or the equivalent fee of $150) is needed to hold a class.  Maximum group size = 25 students.

NCES:  4.L.1,  4.L.1.1,   5.L.2,  5.L.2.2  &  5.L.2.3
For grades 6 and up.

$15 per Student
No Charge for Teachers

To schedule a Shark Dissection Program for your group, please contact the Special Activities Coordinator at 252-475-2327.

Students become detectives as they examine animals such as sea stars, horseshoe crabs, hermit crabs, and whelks up close. Moving from one workstation to another, students work in groups to investigate live animal specimens in search of telltale clues that provide answers to a quiz. Each lab lasts approximately 1.5 hours.  A minimum of 10 students (or the equivalent fee of $100) is required to hold a lab.  Maximum group size = 30 students.

NCES:  4.L.1 & 4.L.1.1
For grades 3 and up.

$10 per Student
No Charge for Teachers

 To schedule a Marine Invertebrate Lab experience for your group, please contact the Special Activities Coordinator at 252-475-2327.

Children and teachers are encouraged to take advantage of some toddler time in the Aquarium. Designed for ages 2-5, these exciting interactive sessions will encourage hands on learning through free play, stories, crafts, and open time in the Aquarium. We will look at a different animal topic or ocean theme during each class and incorporate shapes, colors, numbers and sounds.

NCES:  K.L.1,  K.L.1.1,   1.L.1,  1.L.1.1,  1.L.1.3,   1.L.2.,  1.L.2.2,  2.L.1 & 2.L.1.1 (Depends on topic)

Ages: 2-5

$6.80 per Child
No charge for School Staff

Want your students to learn more, but don't see what you are looking for?  Need some help with your curriculum or a state standard?  Our team of Aquarium educators can help you build your own program tailored specifically to your needs.  Select from a variety of topics including sharks, reptiles, mammals, invertebrates, fish, and more.  Each presentation can include live animals (when applicable), interactive exhibits, and a grade-level appropriate activity.

Minimum of 10 participants; Maximum of 150 participants, or determined by topic selection.

NCES:  K.L.1.1, 1.L.1.1, 1.L.1.3, 1.L.2.2, 2.L.1.1 (Depends on Topic), & 4.L.1.1

Grades: K-12

Half-Hour Program:  $3 per Person

One-Hour Program:  $5 per Person

Students will learn some basics about fish and have an opportunity to be creative with their fish prints in this artistic program. The program opens with a lesson on fish anatomy and adaptations, and the history of Gyotaku. Students will then have time to design prints of their own and practice the Japanese art of fish printing. One T-shirt is provided for each participant, or students may bring their own t-shirt for an adjusted price. All other art materials are provided.

NCES:  K.L.1,   K.L.1.1

Grades: K and Up.

$16.15 per Participant, plus regular admission - All materials provided.
$12 per Participant who provides their own shirt.
No Charge for School Faculty

The river otters at the Aquarium love their snacks! Learn about otter behavior, biology, and the importance of enrichment. Students will design an enrichment object to be shared with these playful animals, and get to see the otters enjoy the newly designed "toys" filled with treats.


Grades: K and Up

$10 per Student
No charge for Teachers