Lab Spaces Bring Learning to Life at NatureBridge Golden Gate

NatureBridge Golden Gate offers a diverse range of lab spaces across both its Beach and Bluff campuses, each designed to provide students with unique, hands-on learning opportunities.

At our Beach Campus, the Intertidal Lab shines as a student favorite, filled with live marine animals that bring California’s intertidal ecosystem to life. The Skins & Skulls Lab offers a close-up look at native species via taxidermy specimens and preserved skulls, while the Microscope Lab allows students to delve into the microscopic worlds of plankton and geology. Rounding out the lineup is the Climate Solutions Lab, our newest lab space, which is designed to inspire student action and creativity around one of today’s most important topics.

The Bluff Campus contributes its own unique learning spaces to the student experience, such as the Watershed Lab, featuring a water table that models ecological systems, and the Discovery Room, which serves as a versatile classroom housing microscopes and other indoor activities. The Garden brings sustainability to life, and we have plans to incorporate a composting program in the near future.

What makes these lab spaces so special is not just the curriculum but the people behind them. From educators and lab stewards to students and volunteers, each space has been shaped by community members’ contributions. Staff have donated specimens to the Skins & Skulls Lab, former educator Ingrid Apter designed a stunning mural for the Skins & Skulls Lab, and local partnerships shaped the development of the Climate Solutions Lab.

Since its construction in 2008, the Intertidal Lab has provided a hands-on avenue for marine science exploration. Also known as the Marine Lab, this unique space “was born out of the desire to have hands-on teaching and learning for the students” and to showcase California intertidal life, Dylan explains. Touch tanks were chosen as the centerpiece of the lab because of their associated learning outcomes; students are able to study intertidal adaptations and engage in student-led and student-focused inquiry, with connections to other lessons they participate in at NatureBridge like plankton labs or ocean acidification studies.

Thanks to a Whale Tail Grant, the lab recently underwent much-needed renovations, including new flooring and a sturdier touch tank stand. These updates enhance the lab’s ability to offer meaningful, inquiry-driven student experiences. The grant also provides scholarship funding to schools that elect Marine Science as their NatureBridge program focus.

Students studying intertidal adaptations are encouraged to ask questions, explore, and even handle live marine animals like hermit crabs and sea stars. Educators model safe interactions, fostering curiosity and empathy. There is always lots of interest from students and teachers alike when it comes to the Intertidal Lab—educators say it is the most popular lab space at Golden Gate, and returning schools specifically request time in it. “We see schools coming back year after year, and the marine lab is what they remember and are most excited about,” Dylan affirms.

Opened in September 2024, the Climate Solutions Lab marks a new chapter in climate change education at NatureBridge. This space was designed with a forward-thinking approach to shift away from fear-based messaging and toward empowerment and solutions. The Bay Area-based exhibit design firm White Clouds worked with Golden Gate board and staff leaders to take the project from concept to reality. 

Interactive exhibits within the space showcase renewable energy, sustainable building materials, public transportation, and more—with many tailored to a local, Bay Area context. Students engage in creative activities like “Build a Climate Solution,” where they craft imaginative solutions to real-world problems. “The students get to play; it’s a creative art project essentially,” Dylan says. “They bring creative solutions to this topic; it’s so much fun to see what they come up with.” 

Students also participate in reflection activities like the Climate Action Venn Diagram, which helps them discover their unique role and agency in addressing climate challenges within their communities. Students are prompted to answer questions such as “What are you good at? What are you passionate about? What work needs doing?” The places where their responses overlap becomes a jumping off point for “what your climate action can be,” Dylan explains. “This activity shows that there is not just one way to be a climate activist.”

As we move forward, our vision for the labs remains clear: to keep them dynamic, evolving, and responsive to the needs of our educators, students, and community. With plans for new activities, murals, and curriculum updates, we aim to ensure these spaces remain at the forefront of environmental education.

Together, we’re shaping the future—one lab, one student, and one discovery at a time.