Field trip a look into sea life

EARLY in Term 4, Year 5 students from St Andrew’s Catholic College ventured to the Cairns Aquarium.

The field trip was to extend our learning about animal adaptations, a topic we studied in science earlier in the year.

All four classes went to the Cairns Aquarium and were guided by very knowledgeable tour guides.

The guides took us through the different parts of the coastal zone.

One tour guide who took us through the tour was Rhys Kiddle. He is a former student of St Andrew’s Catholic College and has really good knowledge of animal adaptations.

There were many highlights to the field trip.

One highlight was seeing sharks inside the massive tank at the end of the tour. Another favourite was patting a starfish. It was a bit more exciting than watching SpongeBob Square Pants.

We learnt about many animal adaptations. One adaptation is for the epaulet shark, that can survive in low levels of water when the tide goes out in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

It uses its fins to walk around on coral when the tide has gone out.

Another amazing adaptation is the nautilus.

It is a shell that is classified as a living fossil because it has survived on Earth for so long. The nautilus has a chamber that it can fill with air to allow it to rise and it can release the air so it can sink.

Thanks to the Cairns Aquarium for hosting us.

We especially thank our tour guides who worked really hard to keep everyone on track with their work.

We also thank our Year 5 teachers for organising a field trip for us.

By Kye Bryant, Joshua Hosking and Ben Honeyball, Year 5, St Andrew’s Catholic College.