Teachers Should Call Now To Apply For Field Trips To The Seymour Center At Long Marine Lab–reservations Will Be Made By Lottery

SANTA CRUZ, CA–Teachers who want to bring their classes on field trips to the Seymour Center at Long Marine Lab during the 2000-01 school year should call now to request a School Programs brochure, which includes a new application form. This year, for the first time, the Seymour Center will be using a lottery system to make field-trip assignments, rather than making reservations on a first come, first served basis.

To receive a School Programs brochure, call Charlie Sutton at (831) 459-4939 and leave your name, mailing address, and telephone number.

Teachers are encouraged to call before August 24 to ensure they receive the brochure in plenty of time to submit an application before the deadline.

Brochures will be mailed out starting August 25. The Seymour Center must receive completed applications by 5 p.m. on September 21. "We will use a lottery system very similar to that used by the Monterey Bay Aquarium," said youth programs manager Kevin Keedy. "We decided that it’s the most equitable system we could use to assign field trips and fulfill our mission."

The School Programs brochure will provide all the details of how the system will be implemented. Teachers will be asked to write in ten possible dates and times for their field trip, in order of preference. Applications will be drawn randomly and reservations made based on preference and availability of slots. Demand is typically highest in the spring, so teachers are more likely to get their first choice if they request fall or winter dates, Keedy said.

Confirmation letters will be mailed out in early October and should be received no later than October 9. Teachers with field trips booked for October dates will receive a phone call in the first week of October so they will have time to make necessary arrangements.