Education: Related Content

Light Painting Tutorial

What does a bioluminescent creature that lives more than two miles below the surface of the ocean and a glow stick have in common? More than you think. Bioluminescence is the process by which living organisms produce their own light. Using a photographic technique called light painting, you can do a fun activity to engage students to learn about bioluminescence with art.  

Light Painting of a Jellyfish

What does a bioluminescent creature that lives more than 2 miles below the surface of the ocean and a glow stick have in common? More than you think. Bioluminescence is the process by which living organisms produce their own light. Using a photographic technique called light painting, you can do a fun activity to engage students to learn about bioluminescence with art.  

Teaching Your Students About Marine Debris: a Classroom Activity

Have you ever gone to your favorite coastal or lakeside beach and instead of having a fun day in the sun you were faced with a trove of trash? How heartbreaking it is to see waters and shorelines littered with items that you have at home, that maybe you’ve even recently thrown away.  

Demonstrating an Earthquake's Seismic Waves

On August 23, 2011 a 5.8 earthquake emanated from the little-known Central Virginia Seismic Zone. The epicenter was near Mineral, VA, but the tremor shook homes, schools, and office buildings in Washington, DC, including Smithsonian Institution buildings, and beyond.

Penguin TV: Ocean Drilling for Kids

Watch this short video starring “penguins” that explains Scientific Drilling in the Antarctic. Then read about the recent (January – March 2010) expedition that studied the Antarctica ice sheet. In addition you can access the follow three episodes.

Rutgers Antarctic Summer

Join two scientists on their journey to Antarctic. Learn about the ship needed to travel to the coldest place in the world, as well as the Palmer Station where they conducted their research. There is a slide show of the amazing picture they took along the way.

Arctic Exploration Online

Join NASA and the U.S. Coast Guard on a trip up the Alaska coast. Meet the crew of the Coast Guard ship the Polar Star and get introduced to the places and people of Alaska.

NOAA’s Arctic Theme Page

Gain access to Arctic data and information from NOAA, including maps and data sets that describe the present state of the Arctic ecosystem and climate. The site also includes a wealth of photographs of various arctic sites.

Expedition to the Poles

Students will pretend they have just returned from a year in the Arctic or Antarctic. By exploring web sites about expeditions to these regions and creating posters illustrating what they could have seen or done, students will have a better understanding of what life would be like in Polar Region without actually visiting them.
For more information: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/

The JASON Project Live from the Shedd Aquarium

This week people representing federal, state, and local governments, academia, non-profits, and private industry are in Chicago for the biennial Coastal Zone Conference. This meeting will give more than 1,000 attendees the opportunity to discuss ocean issues, strategies, and solutions.

Gyotaku Fish Prints

Gyotaku is a traditional form of Japanese art that began as a way for fisherman to keep a record of the fish they caught. The fisherman would apply sumi ink to one side of a freshly caught fish, then cover the fish with rice paper and rub to create an exact image of the fish. The ink was non-toxic and allowed for the fish to be processed for eating, while preserving records of fish species and sizes.

Gyotaku Flounder

Gyotaku is a traditional form of Japanese art that began as a way for fisherman to keep a record of the fish they caught. The fisherman would apply sumi ink to one side of a freshly caught fish, then cover the fish with rice paper and rub to create an exact image of the fish. The ink was non-toxic and allowed for the fish to be processed for eating, while preserving records of fish species and sizes.

Teens Making a Difference in Your Community

Over the past year I have been working for an organization called Coastal America helping to plan the Third National Student Summit on the Ocean and Coasts, a program that teams up high school students with educators to work on an ocean-related research project and “action plan” in their community.

2011 Student Summit on the Ocean & Coasts Webcast, Part 2

Recorded Feb. 15, 2011, this video from the Third Student Summit on the Ocean and Coasts includes public awareness and education presentations that were presented by delegations from the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher (2:20), Shedd Aquarium (17:30), Veracruz Aquarium (30:15) and the Aquarium of the Pacific (43:50).

Dauphin Island Sea Lab Delegation

What can students do to help the ocean? It turns out, a lot! These students from Alabama 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 marine research centers. As part of the Third Student Summit on Coastal and Ocean Issues, the students will present their plans in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 15, 2011, in a program that will be webcast live from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

Rainfall Patterns in Hawaii

What can students do to help the ocean? It turns out, a lot! These students from Hawaii 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 marine research centers. As part of the Third Student Summit on Coastal and Ocean Issues, the students will present their plans in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 15, 2011, in a program that will be webcast live from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

Veracruz Aquarium Delegation

What can students do to help the ocean? It turns out, a lot! These students from Veracruz, Mexico, 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 marine research centers. As part of the Third Student Summit on Coastal and Ocean Issues, the students will present their plans in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 15, 2011, in a program that will be webcast live from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

South Carolina Delegation

What can students do to help the ocean? It turns out, a lot! These South Carolina students are among dozens from across the United States 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 marine research centers. As part of the Third Student Summit on Coastal and Ocean Issues, they will present their plans in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 15, 2011, in a program that will be webcast live from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

Oregon Coast Aquarium Delegation

What can students do to help the ocean? It turns out, a lot! These students from Oregon 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 marine research centers. As part of the Third Student Summit on Coastal and Ocean Issues, the students will present their plans in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 15, 2011, in a program that will be webcast live from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences Delegation

What can students do to help the ocean? It turns out, a lot! These students from New Jersey 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 marine research centers. As part of the Third Student Summit on Coastal and Ocean Issues, the students will present their plans in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 15, 2011, in a program that will be webcast live from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

Mystic Aquarium Delegation

What can students do to help the ocean? It turns out, a lot! These students from Connecticut 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 marine research centers. As part of the Third Student Summit on Coastal and Ocean Issues, the students will present their plans in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 15, 2011, in a program that will be webcast live from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

Gulf Coast Research Lab Delegation

What can students do to help the ocean? It turns out, a lot! These students from Mississippi 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 marine research centers. As part of the Third Student Summit on Coastal and Ocean Issues, the students will present their plans in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 15, 2011, in a program that will be webcast live from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

Alaska SeaLife Center Delegation

What can students do to help the ocean? It turns out, a lot! These students from Alaska 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 marine research centers. As part of the Third Student Summit on Coastal and Ocean Issues, the students will present their plans in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 15, 2011, in a program that will be webcast live from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

Students and the Scarlet Knight

Students from Baiona, Spain surround the Scarlet Knight in front of the television cameras.

Introduction to Latitude and Longitude

This lesson introduces students to latitude and longitude. They will look at lines of latitude and longitude on a United States map and discuss the reasons why these lines are helpful. Students will also discuss the ways that temperatures vary with latitude and will explain the clothes they might wear at specific latitudes.
For more information: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/

Be a Scientist

Learn how scientists collect field data by being a scientist yourself! By studying a specific ecosystem, students learn how different scientists work together, what kinds of data scientists record, and experience the scientific process through observation and data collection.
For more information: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/

Gulf of Mexico Alliance Environmental Education Network

The Gulf of Mexico Alliance is a partnership of the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. It has the goal of significantly increasing regional collaboration to enhance the ecological and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico Alliance Environmental Education Network (GOMAEEN) coordinates education and outreach around the Gulf Coast and is an excellent resource for news, information and educational materials related to the Gulf of Mexico.

A Current Event in the Classroom: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Sometimes, a tragic event can become a powerful teaching opportunity. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has the potential to capture students’ attention and stimulate discussion on topics like:

• biology and ecology (How will the oil effect wildlife and the environment?),

• physics and chemistry (How do water conditions, currents, and weather affect the way the oil disperses? What techniques and materials can we use to clean up this mess?),

Climate Discovery Teachers Guide

A teaching guide produced by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. It contains four units (The Sun-Earth Connection, Investigating Climate Past, Present and Future) which contain several lesson plans appropriate for grades 5-9 on a variety of Earth Science topics about our planet’s climate system.

Is Climate Change Good For Us?

In this activity students are encouraged to consider how climate change could impact them personally and how changes may affect their regions. Students will analyze the roles of organisms as part of interconnected food webs, populations, communities, and ecosystems, assess survival needs and interactions between organisms and the environment, assess the requirements for sustaining healthy local ecosystems evaluate human impacts on local ecosystems. For more information: http://wildbc.org/index.php/programs/climate-change-education/

The Global Climate Game

This group game is designed to help students explore the various aspects of global climate and to learn how human activity may affect climate. Student groups will be responsible for making decisions about activities that may impact global climate. Students will be able to identify the various human impacts on the environment. Students will be able to explain how lifestyles may be altered to become more favorable to the environment. Students will examine the role of individual decisions and their impact on the natural environment.

Global Warming Wheel Card Activity

Students will be introduced to the concept of climate change and the greenhouse effect. Students will learn the common sources of greenhouse gas emissions that humans generate. Students will create a Global Warming Wheel Card which will enable them to see how their own actions generate greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to global warming. Students will learn ways that they might reduce their individual, family, school and community’s production of these gases. For more information:

Podcast of Life/Sea Cucumbers

The Ocean Portal and the Encyclopedia of Life have teamed up to bring you the Podcast of Life. What reef animal comes in a rainbow of crazy colors, can throw out its innards to immobilize predators, then creep away and regrow a brand-new stomach? It’s the sea cucumber, prized as a gastronomic delight by some cultures and beginning to yield some of its secrets to scientists. Follow host Ari Daniel Shapiro from a Chinatown market to the reefs of Fiji to learn more about this amazing creature.

It’s Sedimentary, My Dear Watson

In this introductory activity, students analyze core sample data to identify sediment composition on the ocean floor. They use Google Earth to make their own qualitative observations that help them determine the types of sediments that make up the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. For more information, www.deepearthacademy.org

Terms of Use for Media on the Ocean Portal

The images, videos, and audio files contained within the Ocean Portal are owned by many individuals and organization who have generously loaned us their media for use on the Ocean Portal. We at the Smithsonian Institution—and our collaborators—encourage you to use the Ocean Portal as an educational tool with your family and friends or in your classroom, but use of media outside the Ocean Portal context (i.e.

The COOL classroom

The COOL Classroom is a series of Internet-based instructional modules that link middle and high school classrooms with active research investigations at the Rutgers Marine & Coastal Sciences COOLroom, a collaboration of oceanographers studying the coastal ocean off the coast of New Jersey.

The Bridge- Scuttlebutt listserv

"Scuttlebutt," the Bridge discussion list, is a forum for marine educators to talk informally about marine education ideas, issues, and questions.

Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence- Resources for Educators

Links to hundreds of ocean science educational resources.

Teacher's Night Logo

The Good the Bad and the Arctic

Students identify and explain three lines of evidence that suggest arctic climate is changing. Students identify and discuss three social, economic, environmental consequences expected due to climate change in Arctic. Students identify three climate-related issues of concern to Arctic indigenous peoples. Students identify three ways in which Arctic climate change is likely to affect the rest of the Earth’s ecosystems.

For more information:
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

The Puzzle of Ice Age Americans

Students describe alternative theories for arrival of first humans to come to America. Students explain evidence for these theories and explain how exploration of a submerged segment of Gulf Of Mexico coast may give insight into origin of native Americans. Students describe role of skepticism in scientific theory.

For more information:
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

Oceans of Energy

Students describe forms of energy found in the ocean and explain how they are used by humans. Students explain three ways that energy can be obtained from the ocean.

For more information:
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

Animals of the Fire Ice

Students define and describe methane hydrate ice worms and hydrate shrimp. Students infer how methane hydrate ice worms and hydrate shrimp obtain their food. Students infer how methane hydrate ice worms and hydrate shrimp may interact with other species in the biological communities of which they are part. Students build a methane hydrate molecule.

For more information:
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

Where There’s Smoke…

Students explain how fundamental relationships between melting and boiling points, solubility, temperature and pressure can help to develop plausible explanations for observed chemical phenomena in the vicinity of subduction volcanoes.

For more information:
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

I, Robot, Can Do That

Students describe and contrast three types of underwater robots. Students discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using robots in the exploration of the ocean. Students identify a robotic vehicle that best suits a specific exploration task.

For more information:
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

Watered Down Topo Map

Students create models of undersea geologic features on a bathymetric chart. Students interpret and explain the difference between bathymetric charts and topographic maps.

For more information:
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

Three Cold Realms

Students describe three organisms important to the Arctic Ocean realms. Students compare and contrast the Arctic Ocean ecosystem that consists of sea ice, pelagic and benthic waters. Students identify three organisms typical of these three realms and describe how they interact with one another.

For more information:
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

Light at the Bottom of the Deep Dark Ocean

Students will be able to list the various adaptations that enable deep-sea fishes to survive; explain how biolouminescence helps deep-sea fish respond to food predator and reproductive pressures in their environments; explore how the structure of an appendage helps determine and utilize its function; describe how deepwater organisms respond to their dark environment.

For more information: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

Monsters of the Deep

Students will be able to describe major features of cold seep communities; list at least five organisms typical of these communities; infer probable trophic relationships among organisms typical of cold-seep communities and the surrounding deep-sea environment; describe the process of chemosynthesis in general terms; contrast chemosynthesis and photosynthesis; and describe at least five deep-sea predator organisms.

For more information:
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

Treasures in Jeopardy

Students will be able to compare and contrast deep-sea coral reefs with their shallow-water counterparts; explain at least three benefits associated with deep-sea coral reefs; describe human activities that threaten deep-sea coral reefs; and describe actions that should be taken to protect deep-sea coral reef resources.

For more information:
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

Molecular Explorations

Students will be able to explain and carry out a simple process for separating DNA from tissue samples and complex mixtures. Students will also be able to explain the process of restriction enzyme analysis.

For more information
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

Exploring Explorations

Students will describe human benefits that have resulted from explorations of the Earth’s deep oceans.

For more information:
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

Teaching Physical Science Through Oceanography

This supplement was developed for university level students, but can be adapted for middle and high school students. This supplement to Oceanography magazine focuses on educational approaches to help engage students in learning and offers a collection of hands-on/minds-on activities for teaching physical concepts that are fundamental in oceanography. These key concepts include density, pressure, buoyancy, heat and temperature, and gravity waves.

For more information: http://cosee.umaine.edu .

Monterey Bay Aquarium Shark Activities Page

Shark and ray activities for kids

Long Live the Sharks and Rays

Students will learn about adaptations that have helped sharks and rays survive. Students will explore similarities and differences between sharks, rays and other fish and that different types of sharks and rays have different temperaments and diets and that some of the largest sharks and rays are the most gentle.

For more information:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature.

Sharks: Setting the Record Straight

Students read, discuss, and compare news reports of shark attacks with data and then design a television special to educate the public about sharks.

For more information:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/.

A Reef of Your Own

Students learn what physiological, ecological, and behavioral strategies contribute to the success of reef-building corals.

For more information about NOAA Ocean Service, visit http://oceanservice.noaa.gov.

Coral Conservation

Students will learn about the natural and human threats to coral reefs including destructive fishing practices.

For more information about the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, visit http://coralreef.noaa.gov.

Life of a Coral Reef Fish

To synthesize a lesson on coral reefs, students write first person narratives as though they were reef organisms including their daily lives and the threats facing themselves and their communities.

4th Grade Moorea Coral Reef LTER Education Curriculum

These life science lessons and activities are about food chains and ecosystems and include “Food Chain Hide and Seek,” “Connected Ecosystems” and “In Hot Water.” For more information and to download the lesson plans and activities, go to http://mcr.lternet.edu/education/.

How do Humpback Whales Feed?

The activity covers background, migration, and feeding behaviors of humpback whales. It also includes a simulation of bubble net feeding and a drawing exercise.

The Best Hope for Northern Right Whales

This lesson asks students to research current and proposed methods of assisting the recovery of northern right whale populations. Students will conduct Internet research to investigate the best strategies to help save right whales.

Article “North Atlantic Right Whales on Path to Extinction” for lesson found at:
http://www.cnn.com/NATURE/9903/18/right.whales.enn/.

How Raven Stole the Sun

Students will learn about the legend of the raven in the oral traditions and culture of the Tlingit and other Native groups along the Northwest Coast of the US. In this lesson, students will learn how the raven is often portrayed as creator and trickster, and was used to teach lessons to native children in the Northwest.

In Search of the Giant Squid

In this series of lessons, worksheets and activities, students will get acquainted with the habits, biology, and range of the giant squid. Students will understand the challenges in finding a “relatively small” giant squid within a vast and deep habitat and will also learn about the ever-improving technological resources needed to find a live giant squid.

Do You Know the Fish You're Eating

Students design and conduct research to discover firsthand what type of fish is being sold in their community, where this fish comes from, and whether that fish is an overfished species. This lesson gives students a chance to do their own market research and discover first-hand what type of fish is being sold to the public. It also provides an introduction to fish as an important food source and as an industry controlled partly by supply and demand.

How to Catch a Fish

After an introduction to the variety of current fishing methods, students learn through an activity about the problem of bycatch and then design a poster or PSA to educate others about the issue.

For more information: http://www.pbs.org/kqed/oceanadventures/educators.

Game of Life

The goal of this game is to illustrate to the students what happens to a fish stock when large amounts of biomass are removed from a particular species. Students learn about over-fishing and its impact on the ocean.

For more information: http://sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov/education.