On a clear day, cast your eyes westward and you’ll see dramatic, craggy slopes breaking through the ocean’s surface nearly 30 miles outside the Golden Gate. These waters are known as the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, and have been protected as one of our nation’s special places since 1981.

The Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center, located in the Old Coast Guard Station at Crissy Field, offers dozens of programs to introduce young people to the whales and white sharks, seabirds and seals, found just offshore. The Visitor Center is operated by Sanctuary staff in partnership with the non-profit Marine Sanctuary Association.

Marine education programs reach thousands of children, aged kindergarten through high school, each year. Many programs use the Presidio as an outdoor classroom, while others – notably the Sharkmobile – bring the show on the road to Bay Area students. Workshops also train teachers how to bring the ocean into the classroom.

MARINE EDUCATION PROGRAMS

To register, visit www.farallones.org or call (415)  561-6625.

Group Programs at the Center: Hands-on group programs for grades Pre-K through 12. Hold the baleen of a blue whale, feed a giant green anemone, touch the pelt of a sea otter, or feel the saw-like teeth of a white shark. Programs are available weekdays from 10 am to 4 pm for groups of up to 30 students.

Outdoors at the Presidio: High schoolers can gain in-depth, hands-on research experience studying what goes on beneath the surface through Sandy Beach Monitoring project (focused on sand crabs and shorebirds); or the Rocky Intertidal Monitoring project, which examines the diverse life of tidepools.

Sharkmobile: The Sanctuary Sharkmobile brings the sea to the school through a free one-hour classroom program that explores the biology of sharks from around the world. The program is for grades 4-6.

Just for Teachers: Learn about ocean concepts, student monitoring project, and research related to the Gulf of the Farallones through special workshops.