Sea Star Superpowers

Park Ranger stands in front of a group of seated students with a screen behind that reads "What does being responsible for taking care of our oceans mean to you?"

NPS/Bethany Szczepanski

Bring your students on a 2–3 hour field trip to the visitor center in Ventura Harbor. Funding may be available. Fourth grade students will investigate the structural and behavioral adaptations that help organisms grow, survive, and reproduce in the park's kelp forests.

Field trip activities

  1. Welcome and orientation (15 minutes)
  2. Ranger program (30 minutes)
  3. Worksheet-based, teacher-guided exploration of visitor center exhibits, native plant garden, and observation tower and topographic maps (45 minutes)
  4. Optional viewing of the film Treasure in the Sea (24 minutes) if time allows

Education standards

Program content supports the following Grade 4 Disciplinary Core Idea in Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for California Public Schools:

  • LS1.A: Plants and animals have both internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction. (4-LS1-1)

Group size

The maximum capacity for our visitor center field trips is 65 students per group. If you have more than 65 students, your group will need to be split and visit on two separate days.

Chaperone guidelines and responsibilities

Chaperones are key players in your day at the park. Make them aware of these expectations before the trip:

  • Guide the learning process and help focus students on the activity or speaker.
  • Assist with safety. It will be one of your primary duties as a chaperone.
  • Provide guidance to students for lunch and clean-up.
  • Help set boundaries and provide leadership.
  • Do not bring siblings who are not part of the class. Your full attention is needed to help monitor the students assigned to you that day.
  • Most importantly… go with the flow, adapt, and have fun! The students pick up on how you react… if you are having fun, they will too!

Funding

Funding for buses may be available to second grade classes from Ventura County schools with Title 1 status. Funds are available through an Open Outdoors for Kids grant from the National Park Foundation. If you are eligible, please inquire with a park representative when you submit your reservation form. This funding is limited and will be awarded on a first come, first served basis.

 

How to Schedule

Sea Star Superpowers programs are typically offered between October and May. Reservations can be made up to 4 months in advance. You must complete both steps to schedule your field trip:

  1. Reserve your day on our Microsoft Bookings calendar. You will receive an email that says "Your booking is confirmed."
    Important Note: The date you request in Bookings is held for you, but your program is not confirmed until you complete step 2 and receive confirmation from park staff.
    Important Note: If you have more than 65 students, book a second day.
  2. Complete and submit the Education Reservation Request Form below (NPS Form 10-1750).
    Important Note: List "Island Fox Explorations" as the program title. List the day you requested on the Bookings calendar as the "Preferred Date of Visit." To bring more than 65 students, request more than one date in Bookings, then submit a single form. List the second date you requested in "Alternate Date(s)."

If the park does not receive your Education Reservation Request Form within seven days of your Microsoft Bookings request, your Bookings request will be canceled.

You will receive an email confirming your field trip reservation within two weeks. If you do not receive this within two weeks, email us at chis_education@nps.gov.

NPS Form 10-1750 (Rev. 04/2021)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0228
Expiration Date 11/30/2025

Disclaimer:

A park representative will follow-up to confirm group details once this request has been received and reviewed.


NPS Form 10-1750 (Rev. 04/2021)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0228
Expiration Date 11/31/2025

Notices

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: Public Law 114-289 National Park Service Centennial Act and 54 U.S.C. 100701 Protection, interpretation, and research in System.

Purpose: To administer education programs for education audiences including but not limited to school groups, scouting groups, extracurricular groups, and home school groups.

Routine Uses: To effectively manage requests for education received by the NPS, the Education Reservation Request Form is used to collect basic education reservation information to facilitate operational aspects of scheduling groups for park education programs, including in-park education programs, ranger in classroom programs, and/or online distance learning programs.

Disclosure: Voluntary, however, failure to provide the requested information may impede the ability to grant your education reservation request.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

We are collecting this information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501) to provide park managers and educators the information needed to schedule and conduct education program activities. All applicable parts of the form must be completed in order for your request to be considered. You are not required to respond to this or any other Federal agency-sponsored information collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. OMB has approved this collection of information and assigned control number 1024-0288.

Estimated Burden Statement

Public reporting for this collection of information is estimated to average 5 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service, 1201 Oakridge Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80525. Do not send your completed form to this address.

Last updated: September 3, 2025

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Contact Info

Mailing Address:

1901 Spinnaker Drive
Ventura, CA 93001

Phone:

805 658-5730

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