California Academy of Sciences – Field Trip

Last year, Sarath’s AP Biology class went on a field trip to the California Academy of Sciences. We had been there a couple of times before and it is a fun place. The entire high school AP Biology class which is about 300 students went on the field trip. They arranged 6 buses. There were parent chaperones – 1 chaperone for about 7 – 8 kids. The planning was meticulous and even with so many students, everything went according to the time.

The bus ride was very nice. The same roads I drive by everyday looked different from the bus. I was enjoying the views while listening to the conversations around me. With a bus full of teenagers, the conversations were very interesting. I was thinking about when I was that age and how innocent and hopeful I was for the life ahead. Kids these days are more mature than I ever was as a teenager in some aspects.

We did not have much traffic and arrived at the academy on time as planned. The kids had group leaders who had to take attendance and then we were allowed inside. The kids were free to choose which exhibits they wanted to see. The kids were in groups, but not necessarily with their friends. They were supposed to stay with their groups, but they just wanted to go off and see the exhibits with their friends. The group leaders had to check in with their groups once in a while and take a picture. Mostly, the kids had fun, although some of the kids looked like they didn’t even want to be there. They came there voluntarily (field trip was optional), but they did not show much enthusiasm to go around and look at the exhibits. Not sure what that was about.

Sarath had fun with his friends. I think they enjoyed the aquarium, the rainforest and the earthquake simulator the most. It was my first time in the earthquake simulator and wow that was a bit scary. Since we knew it was a simulation, it was okay. Otherwise, it would be very scary.

The Africa exhibit was also good. They did have a dinosaur exhibit, but it was mostly geared towards the little kids. The kids visited that exhibit and Sarath took a couple of pictures, but it was not that exciting. While I was at the dinosaur exhibit, I was looking at the T-Rex model that was moving its head and roaring. It was amazing to see all the little details that they took care in making that model. When the animal moved its head, the little creases in its skin, moving its tail appropriately, moving the muscles when the animal roared – all of this was exceptional. I have seen T-Rex models before, but never paid close attention. It was those details that made it look life like.

There was no specific lunch time either which was nice. When ever the kids wanted to eat, they could do so. Most of the kids were not really interested in lunch at all. We couldn’t sit outside as it was only for members and so we sat in the cafe inside. A couple of Sarath’s friends’ dads also were chaperoning yesterday. So, I was chatting with them while eating lunch.

We then went to see the living roof where they have plants on the roof and they conduct experiments there. We cannot go and see the plants closely. There is only a small area where we are allowed to be. But, the views from there are beautiful. It was partly sunny and for once it was not freezing cold out there. By the time we were done with the living roof and looking at the rocks and minerals, it was almost time to head back.

Trips like this are not complete without going to the gift shop. Sarath bought a t-shirt. I wanted to get something for Sanjay as well and got him a water bottle. He seems to lose his water bottles. But, eventually Sarath claimed the water bottle as his and is using it now.

We then boarded the bus, counted the kids and started back to the school. It was amazing to see that with so many kids, we started driving back on time. On the way back though, we hit traffic and it took us two hours to get back.

I had so much fun on this trip. I used to chaperone on field trips all the time when the kids were in elementary school. It is fun to observe the kids outside of home and school. High schoolers are different in some ways, but I had a lot of fun. It was an amazing day.