KMTR.com (Springfield)

With great anticipation, some Springfield elementary school students headed out Thursday night to the Oregon Coast Aquarium to spend the night with the sharks.

As the kids loaded onto the bus, Moffitt Elementary third-grader Payton Hill said, “We get to sleep with sharks!  And it's the first time third graders got to go on an overnight field trip at Moffit.”

The kids will actually get to sleep in the shark tunnel where they are surrounded by creatures from the deep—including lots of toothy sharks.

They were excited to load up their suitcases and sleeping bags and to get going to the coast.

Their teacher, Kristin Oeming, says it's nice to get the kids out of the classroom.

“We’ve been studying about oceans and animals and we wanted the kids to actually see them up-front instead of just on video and in a book,” Oeming said.

She says her class has been doing a lot of fundraising to make the trip possible and they're thrilled that the aquarium was able to give them a discount, so they could afford to go.

Girl Scout Sleepover  By Sol Neelman

Oregon Coast Aquarium Photo

Are you one of those people who can't fall asleep by counting sheep?  Join us for one of our aquarium sleepovers, and try counting fish swimming over your head instead!!! After a fun-filled evening exploring life under the ocean, be lulled to sleep by the soothing sights of our Passages of the Deep tunnels! Your group will have the aquarium to itself as you travel through our exhibits, go on a scavenger hunt, participate in hands-on-activities, and experience early morning behind-the-scenes at the aquarium.  All of our sleepovers include a pizza dinner and a light breakfast. They start at 6:00 p.m. and end at 9:00 a.m. the next morning.