LLPA Expands School Outreach Program to Sixth Grade.

Loveland Living Planet Aquarium is furthering its mission to inspire people to explore, discover, and learn about Earth’s diverse ecosystems by launching a new program, the Eco-Van, for sixth grade students along the Wasatch Front.

The new Eco-Van program demonstrates how the stability of populations is affected by changes to an ecosystem. The Aquarium has five main Animal Ambassadors for this program that students can interact with up close: a Giant cave cockroach, an African pygmy hedgehog, a Bredli’s carpet python, a Southern three-banded armadillo, and an Argentine black and white tegu.

“We’re very excited to be launching this program. By helping students learn how even small changes can affect the environment, we’re helping them see how they can make positive changes that will benefit local and global ecosystems,” said Christian Burrell, Director of Education. “We want to keep science fun and engaging, and also teach students how they can make a difference.”

Since 1999, the Aquarium has inspired Utah students to learn about science through multiple hands-on programs. During the 2015-2016 school year, the Aquarium visited 50,083 fourth graders with the Utah Waters Van, and 12,072 second graders with the Rainforest Van.

The Aquarium’s Outreach programs are free to public and charter schools due to generous funding from the state of Utah. If you are interested in the Aquarium’s programs, please email outreach@thelivingplanet.com. The Aquarium also offers field trips from pre-K to twelfth grade.