Grade R trip to the Two Oceans Aquarium.

Thanks to our funding from Ukuthasa we were able to take the whole Grade R class to the aquarium in Cape Town as part of their topic on animals.
On the morning of the trip the children arrived at school in a high state of excitement and had to be persuaded to eat their breakfast; we then sent them outside for a much- needed run around before the bus arrived. We had a wonderful band of merry helpers from HCC who arrived at Emyezweni and were equipped with first aid packs, group lists and Xhosa phrases for the day! We matched up children and helpers into small groups and boarded the bus at 9.00am.
Even the drive to the aquarium was good fun, the driver slowed down for us to see a plane taking off from Cape Town airport and the children were incredibly excited to see the harbour as we approached Cape Town.
We were dropped off at the entrance to the aquarium and spent the first half an hour together viewing the amazing tropical fish and sea life in the tanks. The spider crabs and 'Nemo' fish were the biggest hits and many of us returned later to these exhibitions.
At 11.00am we were entertained by a Xhosa puppet show about the various food chains found in the ocean, the children and staff loved this and it gave a good focus for the rest of the trip as they were able to identify creatures from the show and work out if they were predators or prey.
After the show we watched the seal feeding programme and learned about the individual seals and their needs. The children were amazed at how the seals swam right up to the glass tank wall and gradually they overcame their fear and began to put their hands on the glass so the seals could interact with them.
After the seals it was time to see the penguins being fed, this was a truly multi- sensory experience as they smelled dreadful but the children didn't seem to mind and really enjoyed the sights and sounds of the small colony.
We then had some time with our individual groups until lunch which we ate outside in the sunshine; then it was back inside for a last 30 minutes before the bus came to take us home. It was very quiet on the return journey as nearly everyone fell asleep!
For the rest of the week the Grade R class were busy writing thank you letters, accounts of the trip and playing wild games of prey and predators in the playground and now, several weeks on they are still talking about their experiences there.