Books, Film & The Arts

EDUCATOR RESOURCES

LATEST TODAY'S CATCH

Adélie Penguins Face Off

Apr 15, 2013 - 10:25AMThese cute Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) are actually having a bit of a spat. In the spring (October for them), the penguins form breeding colonies on rocky coasts with thousands of birds in a group. Krill, a tiny...

Harp Seal, Prince Edward Island National Park, Canada
Apr 3, 2013 - 9:04AM
Harp seals are protected in the United States by the Marine Mammal...

Grey Reef Shark, West New Britain, Father Reefs, Papua New Guinea
Mar 28, 2013 - 9:45AM
Gray reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) are known for being active at...

SPOTLIGHT

Five Questions for Callum Roberts, Author and Professor

Callum Roberts is a professor of marine conservation at the University of York in England and an author. His first book,...
An oceanic whitetip shark swims near a biologist in the Bahamas.
Image Gallery: Swimming with Sharks
Sep 29 2011 - 2:03pm
For nearly 30 years, National Geographic photojournalist Brian Skerry has been swimming with and photographing sharks, including great whites, tigers, bulls, blacktips, and great hammerheads all around the world. In his first blog post for the Smithsonian Ocean Portal, "Swimming with Sharks,"...
Adélie Penguins, Paulet Island, Antarctica
Jun 28 2012 - 8:30am
“As we motored around Paulet Island in a Zodiac boat, these two curious penguins waddled across an iceberg to get a closer look at us.” -- Nature's Best photographer, Phillip Colla. See more beautiful ocean photos in our slideshow of winners from the 2010 Nature's Best Ocean Views photo contest....
Texas State Aquarium Delegation
Feb 7 2011 - 8:09pm
What can students do to help the ocean? It turns out, a lot! These students from Texas are among dozens from the U.S. and Mexico who are developing action plans on ocean and climate-related issues in their local communities. They’re getting advice from their teachers and experts at aquariums and...
Bigeye Jacks and Diver Balicasag, Philippines
Aug 27 2012 - 11:52am
"I was photographing this beautiful school of jacks when a diver slowly approached from beneath. I shifted my position to capture the moment he entered the ball of fish. Seconds later, he was completely immersed in the school.” -- Nature's Best photographer, Steve De Neef See a slideshow of...
Sound Artist Halsey Burgund
Mar 19 2012 - 9:49am
Halsey Burgund (right) performing Ocean Voices before a live audience at the Museum of Science, Boston, in July 2010. The composition includes excerpts of ocean stories from around the world. Burgund has been recording these stories on the Ocean Voices' website and mobile phone app.
Dancing for the Oceans
May 25 2012 - 12:15pm
If you were choreographing a dance about the ocean, how would you do it? Would you dart around like a lobster in a hurry? Dive like a dolphin? Float like a jellyfish?
Your Ode to the Big Blue
Apr 6 2011 - 10:53am
April is National Poetry Month here in the United States. We'd like you to help us celebrate by penning a poem in the comment field below or on our Facebook page.  Not the next Walt Whitman? Fear not.   
2011 Student Summit on the Ocean Coasts Webcast Part 5 Jean-Michel Cousteau
2011 Student Summit on the Ocean & Coasts Webcast, Part 5: Jean-Michel Cousteau
Mar 28 2011 - 3:15pm
Recorded on Feb. 15, 2011, award-winning ocean filmmaker Jean-Michel Cousteau addresses students and educators at the Third Student Summit on the Ocean and Coasts. Cousteau, president of the Ocean Futures Society, discusses climate change, marine debris, and free diving with great white sharks....
Making Science Sing: The Longest Time (Coral Triangle Edition)
Jul 9 2012 - 12:16pm
How do you make science sing? Just ask a couple of female scientists to sing about their research interests and their passion is quickly conveyed in a quirky little tune. Informative, inspiring, and a little bit silly are all adjectives that aptly describe this music video performed and produced by...
Face to Face with a Tiger Shark
May 25 2012 - 1:09pm
What would you do if you came face to face with a shark? Brian Skerry lives for these moments and is ready with his camera. Here he is seen photographing a large tiger shark on the seafloor near the Bahamas. Read more about Life in the Field with Brian Skerry. 
Smiling Gulf Coast Man
Mar 21 2011 - 4:26pm
A still from Stories From the Gulf: Living with the BP Oil Disaster, part of the 19th Annual Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital.
Finding Little Gems in the Sea
Feb 23 2010 - 6:58pm
This month, our friends at National Geographic are featuring Smithsonian's own bio-scavenger, Chris Meyer and his work in one of our favorite places: Moorea, French Polynesia.
Brian Skerry prepares to dive in icy waters.
Life in the Field as an Underwater Photographer
May 29 2012 - 1:19pm
Brian Skerry, an award winning photographer for National Geographic, explores the underwater world searching for the perfect photo. But getting that photo is never easy. Read more from Brian about the perfect underwater photo and other adventures in the field on his blog. 
X-Ray Image of a Long-Spined Porcupine Fish
Feb 6 2012 - 6:58pm
The robust oval, spine covered body of a long-spined porcupine fish, Diodon holocanthus, is revealed in this X-ray image. Scientists in the Division of Fishes at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History use X-ray images, like the one shown, to study the complex...
Atlantic Spotted Dolphins, Little Bahama Bank, The Bahamas
Dec 23 2010 - 2:14pm
“At night, spotted dolphins move offshore into the Gulf Stream’s deep waters in search of squid.” -- Nature's Best photographer, Andrew Sallmon. See more beautiful ocean photos in our slideshow of winners from the 2010 Nature's Best Ocean Views photo contest.
Crochet Jellyfish
Oct 14 2010 - 5:25pm
Corals are just one of the many marine life forms that can be modeled in crochet. Jellyfish, like the one pictured here, starfish, sea snails, and kelp are some of the other organisms that contributors to the Institute For Figuring’s Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef have created over time.