Teaching Tidepools™ is our highly-popular original outreach program further developed with First 5 Fresno County to give San Joaquin Valley preschool and kindergarten children the opportunity to see and touch our living California tide pool animal collection and interact with two of our staff educators right in their own classrooms.

Now, students at grade levels PreK - 5th grade throughout Fresno, Madera, Merced, Kings and Tulare counties may experience our sea creatures along with an entertaining, interactive standards-based curriculum teachers love. We make the connection between our inland location and our ocean fun for kids. To view our downloadable program standards chart by grade level click here.

Fees are $175 for the first 45 minute class (up to 30 children) and $75 per additional class on the same day at the same school site and we gladly accept most school district purchase orders. Mileage and additional time fees may apply to classes outside the Fresno/Clovis metropolitan area. Please call (559) 490-FISH (3474) or e-mail us today for more information or to schedule your class.

We also come to birthday parties which makes learning with family and friends really fun! Birthday parties are $250 for a two-hour visit with presentation, game, Tidepools! sing-a-long and party favors all designed for children 10 years old and under. A personalized, ocean-themed cake is available at additional charge. Please e-mail us today for more information or to schedule your party.

AND... if you have a swimming pool or access to a pool, our PADI certified SCUBA instructor can also be booked along with Teaching Tidepools™ birthday parties to take kids on a safe underwater SCUBA adventure right in their own backyard! All SCUBA gear, air tanks and digital underwater photos are included for an additional $125.00.

Other current programs

• Institute research is focused on water quality control in large recirculating systems and sustainable land-based closed system aquaculture technologies for both marine and freshwater fishes. In 2009, we worked in collaboration with Frederick Goetz, Ph.D. of the Great Lakes WATER Institute in establishing broodstock for a new Tambaqui (Black Pacu - Colossoma macropomum) breeding program.
  
  

  

• Our 2008 William F. Noli award-winning mentoring program at the Center for Advanced Research and Technology (CART) has been teaching Fresno and Clovis high school students the necessary techniques to raise corals and even hatch salmon in classroom aquariums since 2003. Through hands-on experience, the students are learning about the fragility of our planet's most precious aquatic resources.
  
  

  

• Aquarius Aquarium Institute's Aquatic Life Presentations give our Charter Members, students and the general public opportunities to meet guest biologists, aquarium experts, SCUBA divers and underwater photographers who are well-recognized in their respective fields.
  
  

• Aquarius Aquarium Institute is home to and primary sponsor of The Breeder's Registry, which has been working to take the pressure off wild ecosystems by collecting and freely disseminating vital technical information about aquarium propagation of imperiled marine fish and corals since 1992. With the help of a worldwide network of professional and amateur aquarists, we are documenting the aquarium reproduction of many of the familiar species that have become recognized as staples in the marine aquarium industry.
  
  

  Public Aquarium Facility

  We are currently working to build the Fresno Aquarium along the San Joaquin River in Central California, which will interpret the connections between our inland region and our ocean planet through innovative exhibits of fish and aquatic life from throughout the world - nearly all of which will be propagated at our facility.

  Tropical coral reefs and other vital aquatic ecosystems continue to be devastated by climate change, human activity and natural events. Time is rapidly running out before the extinction of many important species occurs in the wild. We are acting now to preserve those surviving animals before it is too late. We invite you to join us!

  To make a donation Click here
  or mail your tax-deductible contribution to:
  Aquarius Aquarium Institute
  5541 Columbia Drive North
  Fresno, CA 93727

  Here are links to other Web sites for more information
  about the status of our planet's aquatic ecosystems:

  Reef Relief

  International Rivers

  The Coral Reef Alliance

  National Coral Reef Institute

  National Marine Fisheries Service

  The Nature Conservancy - Palmyra

  Enchanted Learning Software - Sharks

  Enchanted Learning Coral Reef Coloring Page

  ReefBase - A Global Information System on Coral Reefs

  Copyright © 2012 Aquarius Aquarium Institute.
  All Rights Reserved.
  The triangular wave logo is a registered trademark of
  Aquarius Aquarium Institute.