Aquarium of the Pacific Honored by Long Beach Unified School District for Its Partnership

October 17, 2025

October 20, 2025, Long Beach, CA-The non-profit Aquarium of the Pacific was recognized by the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) at the Partners and Pathways Celebration event. The Aquarium collaborates with the district's Pathways and Business Engagement Office to provide students with career tours, paid internships, and other unique work-based learning opportunities to help prepare them for their futures beyond school.

The Partners & Pathways Celebration honors business and community partners for the impact they have made in preparing students for the workforce. "Together, we're creating powerful connections between classrooms and careers. This is our moment to shine a spotlight on the work-based experiences that open doors, spark passions, and launch students toward bright, meaningful futures in the world beyond school," said Kehaulani Fujikami, manager of Business Engagement, Partnerships, and Programs at LBUSD.

"Some of my favorite moments throughout this internship were being able to use a robot to clean up trash in the marina, helping out at the Los Cerritos Wetlands, and observing green sea turtles in the San Gabriel River," said Daniella Juarez, a Lakewood High School senior who worked as a habitat restoration intern at the Aquarium in spring 2025.

The Aquarium's support of LBUSD students also includes exclusive programming for district schools through outreach programs like the Mobile Ocean Classroom program, which brings Aquarium educators and ocean science to TK through eighth grade classrooms with lessons and hands-on activities. The Aquarium also provides paid internship opportunities to LBUSD students. In summer 2025, ten LBUSD students from seven high schools completed over 1,100 hours as science education interns.

The Aquarium also serves as an industry partner for the marine-themed Odyssey Pathway at Lakewood High School. Odyssey students have access to internships, career tours, an invitation to the annual Scholar Symposium, and mock interviews with the Aquarium. LBUSD teachers are also invited to attend a two-part workshop series to help build STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) identity in young students, and families are invited to attend the Aquarium's free Family Science Night, held twice a year.

All schools are able to book field trips to visit the Aquarium, which features conservation messaging designed to instill a sense of wonder, respect, and stewardship for the Pacific Ocean, its inhabitants, and ecosystems. The Aquarium offers a mobile tidepool exhibit, called the Aquarium on Wheels, which visits schools and community events and allows students to touch animals like sea anemones and sea stars.

"Thank you to Long Beach Unified for being such a wonderful collaborator. We're proud to not only be a place that inspires students on field trips but also serves as a critical partner in our shared effort to prepare those students for their future in the workforce," said Jennie Dean, vice president of education and conservation, Aquarium of the Pacific.