MacArthur Ninth Grade School Students Visit Houston Museum of Natural Science

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A group of 100 MacArthur Ninth Grade School students visited the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS). The students take part in the campus’ Move Up to Mac program.

Students toured the “Shark!” exhibit, the Hall of Paleontology, the Butterfly Center, and the Burke Baker Planetarium.

In the “Shark!” exhibit, students learned about the important role sharks play in the world’s oceans. And they learned about the latest shark tagging and satellite tracing programs. These are techniques that researchers use to track migratory, threatened, and endangered shark species.

Students also had an opportunity to touch the sharks. Yes, touch them. The exhibit has two shark touch tanks. These low aquariums give museum-goers the opportunity to see small sharks up close. The touch tanks feature white-spotted bamboo sharks, epaulette carpet sharks, and horn sharks. The Mac Ninth students jumped at the chance to feel the sharks.

The exhibit also featured jaws from different shark species. Students could compare the jaw’s of today’s great white shark with that of the megalodon shark. Megalodon (meaning “big tooth”) is an extinct species of shark. The species lived approximately 28 to 1.5 million years ago. It was one of the largest and most powerful predators in vertebrate ocean history. The white megalodon shark may have reached 45-60 feet in length. Today’s white shark averages to only 15-25 feet in length.

The students enjoyed the field trip experience.

“The shark exhibit was cool,” said student Ebenezer González. “I learned that sharks don’t typically hunt or attack humans. Few people are actually killed or attacked by sharks annually.”

“The Butterfly Center was nice,” said Yamilex Salazar. “I loved how the butterflies landed on my finger. And I liked the exhibit of hatching insects and butterflies.”

“I really enjoyed the Hall of Paleontology,” said Edgar Vásquez. “And I liked watching the night sky constellations in the planetarium.”

After the students finished their visit at the museum, they walked across to see Miller Outdoor Theater.  They then capped off their field trip experience by eating lunch at Spaghetti Warehouse.

Move Up to Mac is a high school preparation program. The East Aldine Management District funds the program through a grant. The summer program targets incoming ninth grade students. It provides several readiness classes such as Algebra 1 and biology. MacArthur Ninth Grade School staff members teach these courses. The program also includes three field trips during the year. The educational field trips are designed around specific educational objectives.

Below are additional images from the field trip.