Look for stripes, spots and surprising shapes beneath the surface, then make your own underwater discovery page. Join a suitable guided snorkel session or explore an underwater video from home.
Ages: 4–10 with an adult; operator sets participation requirements · Time: 20 minutes with a video, or around a guided session
Print the two-page pack. Look at its simple pattern clues before your session. Leave the paper on shore, then draw from memory afterward. The whole activity also works with an adult-selected underwater video.
- Printed observation pack, pencil and crayons
- A suitable guided snorkel session OR an adult-selected underwater video
- For a real session: an adult, guide and the equipment specified by the operator
Follow the Clues
1. Choose your way to explore
Your adult checks suitability with the snorkeling operator, including swimming ability, equipment and conditions. If participating is unsuitable, choose a clear underwater video together and write Video on your sheet. Both routes complete the activity.
2. Meet your three clues
Before looking underwater, study the clue card: stripes, spots and a rounded or long body shape. Choose just two clues to remember. You are looking for visible features, not trying to memorize a list of species.
3. Watch quietly
During a real session, follow the guide and keep attention on their instructions; do not chase a sighting to finish the sheet. At home, pause the video when you notice a clue. Observe animals without touching, feeding or following them.
4. Draw what you remember
Back on land, draw one animal or feature in each observation box. Add a color, shape or pattern. Write Not seen today for a clue you missed. A rough sketch is enough; you do not need a photograph.
5. Make a possible match
Compare one drawing with a guide’s explanation or a trustworthy picture selected by your adult. Record a possible name only if the features fit. It is useful to write Unsure; stripes alone do not identify a species.
6. Create your ocean page
Use the empty scene on page 2 to draw a small underwater world from your observations. Add one sentence about something you learned and one way to give ocean wildlife space.
Discover together
- What did you actually see, and what are you still guessing?
- Could two different animals have a similar pattern?
- How could you watch an animal while leaving its space undisturbed?
Little Explorers: find one pattern in a video or suitable guided experience and draw it. Junior Explorers: record two features, suggest a possible identification and explain what you would need to check.
The printable does not teach snorkeling or assess swimming readiness. Follow the guide’s suitability and supervision requirements. Keep hands, feet and equipment away from wildlife and coral. Leave the paper on shore.
Keep the ocean page beside a photograph or video title chosen by your adult. On a different day, compare one new observation with your first drawing.
Read together. Color with imagination. Bring Pico and Tati’s world into your home with books that invite children to explore, learn and care for God’s creation.
Our Promise
At Tico Explorers, we encourage children to explore with curiosity, learn with kindness, and care for God’s creation.
Our adventures invite families to notice the world together, respect local communities, and leave the places they visit cared for.
Explore • Learn • Protect
