Mexico’s Magical Migrations Institute
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Mexico’s Magical Migrations Institute
January 15-22, 2025
- Experience one of the world’s greatest migrations: monarch butterflies on their wintering grounds.
- Observe humpback whale social interactions.
- Visit pre-Aztec ruins at Teotihuacán.
- Discover connections between Mexico and North Carolina.
Participating educators will witness two of nature’s greatest spectacles – wintering monarch butterflies and humpback whales. Each year one of the world’s greatest migrations takes place as millions of monarch butterflies from the US and Canada travel south to the forested Mexican highlands. Once they arrive, they begin a period of winter hibernation by clustering together in huge numbers, blanketing the surrounding vegetation. As the butterflies are arriving in Mexico, so are humpback whales. Concluding their own incredible migration from their feeding waters off Alaska, large numbers of humpback whales gather off Mexico’s Pacific coast. They come to these warmer waters to breed and to give birth. Learn about these magical migrations from local experts and explore connections to North Carolina. We will share our adventures with students at home through daily blog posts from the field.
Dates: January 15-22, 2025. (Mandatory pre- and post-trip sessions will be held in Raleigh on December 7, 2024 and November 1, 2025.)
Locations: Mexico City, Agua Blanca, and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and Raleigh, N.C.
Group Size: Limited to 12 participants.
Activity Level: Moderate to rigorous including hiking (up to 2 miles) on uneven terrain, walking at high altitudes (~10,000 ft), and riding horses on trails with a guide.
Cost: $1550*
Includes round-trip airfare from Raleigh to Mexico, in-country transportation, instruction, lodging, and meals. Participants will be responsible for travel to and from Raleigh and expenses in Raleigh during pre- and post-trip sessions. See below for scholarship opportunities.
*The cost of all Institutes are significantly reduced thanks the generous support of the Friends of the Museum and the Goodnight Educational Foundation. The cost of this Institute has been further reduced thanks to generous support from The Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University.