Homeschool Days
On a weekday morning in Sarasota, the ocean becomes a classroom without walls.
By Edit Sarasota Staff
On a weekday morning in Sarasota, the ocean becomes a classroom without walls. At Mote Science Education Aquarium, homeschool students can move from the familiar language of textbooks into the living, changing world of marine science—where research begins with observation, questions lead to discovery, and even a small detail can reveal something about the Gulf.
Homeschool Days invites students ages 6 to 14 to explore the work of Mote scientists through engaging, hands-on learning experiences. The program’s monthly classes are designed to make marine research accessible and memorable, particularly for younger learners ages 6 to 9, while offering a welcoming setting for a broader range of homeschool students. Rather than simply presenting information, the sessions encourage children to investigate, experiment and think like scientists themselves.
That approach reflects Mote’s long-standing role in Sarasota. Founded in 1955 by marine biologist Eugenie Clark, Mote Marine Laboratory has grown from a small shark-research outpost into an internationally recognized institution studying coral reefs, fisheries, ocean health and the animals that inhabit them. Its public-facing education programs extend that mission into the community, helping young people understand that science is not an abstract subject but a way of paying attention to the world around them.
The setting adds another dimension. Mote SEA, the Science Education Aquarium, brings marine life and research into an environment built for discovery. Located at University Town Center, the facility gives students an opportunity to connect classroom concepts with the living ecosystems that shape Sarasota’s identity—from seagrass beds and mangroves to the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. For families who educate at home, the event also offers the social pleasures of shared inquiry: a chance to learn alongside other curious young people and to find community through a common fascination with the sea.
As Sarasota grows, preserving that sense of connection—to place, to science and to one another—matters. Homeschool Days offers a thoughtful way to nurture it, inviting children to see the Gulf not merely as scenery, but as a complex, vital world worth studying and protecting. The next session takes place Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at Mote Science Education Aquarium, 225 University Town Center Drive, Sarasota.