Homeschool Days
Homeschool Days with the St. Louis Aquarium Foundation are back for Fall 2025!
All Homeschool Day registrations include a 1-hr educational program and an Aquarium admission ticket. We will offer a guided tour to all registered attendees immediately following the educational portion. You are welcome to use your admission ticket at another time if you do not wish to join us immediately after the educational portion. For offsite programs, we will meet at a local green space for our education programming and encourage attendees to follow us back to the Aquarium for a guided tour.
Admission tickets are usable once up to 90 days post-program.
Registration is $20 a participant, adult or child. Aquarium Members will receive a 15% discount. The Member discount code will appear in the next newsletter.
Upcoming dates and locations:
- Sept 23rd at St. Louis Aquarium- Community Science: Residing in the Rain Garden
- Oct 7th at St. Louis Aquarium- Making Waves
- Oct 21st at St. Louis Bell Community Garden- Community Science: Monarchs and Milkweed
- Nov 4th at St. Louis Aquarium- Movie Magic
- Nov 18th Location TBD- Community Science:TBD
- Dec 2nd at St. Louis Aquarium-Chill Out!
- Dec 16th at North Riverfront Park-Community Science:TBD
September 23, 2025
Community Science: Residing in the Rain Garden
Location: St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station
The St. Louis Aquarium Foundation is a proud partner of Missouri Sewer District (MSD) and have been fortunate to work on projects together including World Water Day and the creation of our Rain Garden located at Union Station. For this Community Science Day, we will learn more about what a Rain Garden is, how it supports water and animal conservation, identify some of the plants, and create resting places for our fall and winter residents that call it home. We’ll also be using iNaturalist to track what we find on property and contributing data to their Missouri map.
October 7, 2025
In-House Program: Making Waves
Location: St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station
Have you ever thought about why the ocean is salty? How are waves formed? How do we impact the ocean and how does it impact us? Consult with our resident experts on all things Oceanography and how animals from the largest ecosystem in the world thrive in our human-care facility in downtown St. Louis.
October 21, 2025
Community Science: Monarchs and Milkweeds
Location: Bell Community Garden
Did you know butterflies, including Monarchs, migrate all across the globe? We will be spending an afternoon at one of the many Community Gardens cared for by our St. Louis neighbors to see if we can spot any of the spotted beauties on their way south. We’ll observe and add to our Community Science Field Journals and iNaturalist app and learn about how Community Gardens are supporting both our local wildlife as well as the people around us.
November 4, 2025
In-House Program: Movie Magic
Location: St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station
Mermaids, talking crabs, global treks across oceans, letting it go… some of the most iconic movies across generations are based on our favorite thing: WATER! We’ll have stations set up with different characters you may be familiar with, chat with some of our very own celebrities, run a blue carpet photo shoot, and we’ll work together to come up with your own script and plot focused on your favorite Aquarium resident!
November 18, 2025
Community Science: TBD
Location: TBD
Description to come!
December 2, 2025
In-House Program: Chill Out!
Location: St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station
Stay warm and chill out with us at the St. Louis Aquarium! We’ll dive (or skate?) into learning about the coldest places on our planet: the Arctic and Antarctica. We’ll run experiments to see how animals and people stay warm all year round, create pieces of art to take home, and avoid any polar bears that might come our way…
December 16, 2025
Community Science: Winter Bird Count
Location: North Riverfront Park
Description to come!
FAQ’S
Offsite Days
1:00 – 4:00 PM
Educational programming will be 1:00 – 2:00 PM offsite. Attendees are encouraged to follow us back to the Aquarium to use their admission ticket for the guided tour, running around 2:30 – 4:00 PM. Specific location details will be sent to attendees in advance. Please note we will be outside for the duration of the educational program portion and to dress appropriately. We do our best to make all programs as accessible as possible but may be in places with grass, gravel, or other ground cover.
New for 2025: In our effort to empower learners of all ages to become champions for change through education and STEM, we will spend one week a month outdoors to support Community Science efforts not only in St. Louis but across the globe! What is Community Science?
We encourage all households attending our offsite programs to download the (free!) iNaturalist App, as we will be contributing data to their STL flora and fauna maps.
If you can’t make it out to one of our Community Science Homeschool Days, we encourage you to use one of the resources below to contribute to Environmental Data Collection. Whether on your own or with one of our respected partner organizations, remember you are a scientist and your knowledge, observations, and care for our planet isn't only wanted, but needed!
How much does it cost?
The $20 registration fee includes the 1-hr of educational programming and an Aquarium Admission ticket to be used either immediately after the program for the guided tour or at another time up to 90 days post-program.
What is the age limit?
Our programs are designed with multiple ages in mind and we welcome children and adults in homeschooled households.
In-house: Children under 5 are not permitted in the classroom unless in a stroller the entire program. We are happy to escort registered adults and any children under 5 up to the KidZone during the in-house class portions, and ask all household members rejoin in the lobby at 2:00pm to join us on the guided tour or retrieve your other child/ren from the classroom.
Offsite: Programs are open to all ages.
Can adults attend?
In-house: We have a limited capacity in the classroom and want to prioritize children attending the program. We ask that only 1 adult per household register, unless communicated and approved in advance by Education Manager Mel Hooper (education@stlaquariumfoundation.org).
Offsite: Adults are required and encouraged to attend – bring friends!
Do you offer drop-off options?
In-house: Yes! You are welcome to drop off your child/ren at 1:00 PM and pick them up after class at 2:00 PM, or after the tour at 3:30 PM in the Entryway Lobby. Please be aware if you are not registered you cannot enter the classroom portion or guided tour.
Offsite: We must have 1 adult per household stay with us for offsite programs.
What are the Aquarium Membership benefits for Homeschool Days?
We offer 15% discount to Homeschool Day registrations. Please be aware that if you plan to be in the classroom, you must register and will receive an admission ticket regardless of membership status (give it to a friend!). Members may take advantage of dropping their registered child/ren off for their in-house class and joining us on the tour at 2:00 PM without need of registering as an adult attendee.
What is your cancelation policy?
If you are unable to attend for any reason, please notify us as soon as possible so we may open up your spot to another potential household. We are happy to provide a refund for attendees that notify us before the start of programming. No-shows will not be provided a refund.
The St. Louis Aquarium and St. Louis Aquarium Foundation reserve the right to cancel a program at our discretion. If we have to cancel, registered households may choose between selecting a new date to attend or a full refund. If a registered attendee is not adhering to the safety policies of the Aquarium, Union Station, or elsewhere, we reserve the right to remove them from the program with no refund.
