octopus
Sea Grant logo

Resources for Educators

 

TEACHER EVALUATION FORMS

We strive to make our programs effective and to meet the needs of the students and teachers we serve. When teachers let us know how we are doing, we can address problems, try new suggestions, and strengthen what works.

Are you a teacher who recently brought students to HMSC for a Marine Education class?  If you didn't get a chance to fill out an evaluation form during your visit and would like to give us feedback, please fill out this online fillable form, and snail mail (or if your computer can save the data, email) it to us at the address listed at the bottom of the form. Thank you!

 

COURSES AND WORKSHOPS

OCEP WORKSHOPS

OCEP workshop teachers exploring tidepoolsConnect your class to the coast! The Oregon Coast Education Program (OCEP) will be holding multi-day field-based professional development workshops this June for educators who teach 3rd - 8th grade in self-contained classrooms.  Discover techniques and lessons that provide your students with Meaningful Watershed Education Experiences and integrate coastal field studies into broader classroom units.   As an OCEP-trained teacher, you will have access to online education modules, webinars, and funds to support a field trip with your students in 2013-2014. 

More about the Oregon Coast Education Program
More about OCEP Workshops

This June, choose from two different workshop locations:

Download and share the workshop flyer

OCEP is supported by NOAA B-WET.  There is no cost to attend, and we provide participants with meals, dorm-style lodging and some travel support. Space is limited and preference will be given to partner or team teachers from the same school. For more information, contact the OCEP North Coast Coordinator Cait Goodwin at cait.goodwin@oregonstate.edu.

 

HOW DO WE EXPLORE? EDUCATOR WORKSHOP

Saturday, July 20, 2013 from 8:30am - 4:00pm

NOAA ship Okeanos ExplorerJoin us at the Hatfield Marine Science Center for How Do We Explore? Volume 2 of the Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection from NOAA.  During this day long professional development for educators of 5-12th grade students, participants will learn how to use standards-based lessons and other online resources that guide classroom investigations into the innovative exploration and equipment on the Okeanos Explorer research vessel.

Registration is required and space is limited.  Educators who participate the full day will receive a $50 stipend as well as education materials, a continental breakfast and lunch.

Download a Flier 

Download a Registration Form

This is the same workshop that was held at the Seattle Aquarium on Saturday, March 9, 2013 and will be held there again on August 24, 2013.  For more information visit their website.

 

EARTHQUAKE-TSUNAMI SCIENCE & PREPAREDNESS WORKSHOPS FOR COASTAL EDUCATORS

August 12-15, 2013 in Newport, OR primarily for Lincoln, Lane & Douglas Counties

October 11-14, 2013 in Astoria, OR primarily for Tillamook & Clatsop counties in OR and Pacific county WA

Educators exploring earthquake and tsunami science.

Cascadia EarthScope Earthquake and Tsunami Education Program (CEETEP) will lead this four-day workshop. Teachers and interpreters will learn about current understanding of Pacific Northwest plate tectonics, earthquakes, and tsunamis, as well as methods to prepare coastal students and visitors for these hazards.

Registration is now open for the October workshop and applications are due by August 31st, 2013.  To apply click on the "More Information" link below.  Download a Flier.

More Information

 

RESOURCES FROM THE VISITOR CENTER

Marine debrisBorrow a C-MORE Educational Kit

Thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation, HMSC Marine Education now has kits available from the Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education (C-MORE) for teachers to check out for use in Oregon classrooms.  To request a kit for pick up at HMSC, follow the link associated with the kit description.  C-MORE kits may be checked out one at a time for up to two weeks.

C-MORE Kits

MARINE DEBRIS

Grades 8 - 12

Request this kit

 Marine debris is an environmental problem of global importance, enlisting the concern and action of scientists, policy makers, as well as the general public. This three-lesson kit focuses primarily on plastic marine debris. Students critically examine data and samples and take part in activities that explore the causes, geographical distribution, and biological impacts of marine debris. Each lesson can be completed in about 50–60 minutes, but many of the activities are discrete and can be easily rearranged to fit various curricular objectives and time constraints.

MARINE MYSTERY

Grades 3 - 8

Request this kit

 Students learn about the causes of coral reef destruction by assuming various character roles in this marine murder-mystery. As they determine who killed Seymour Coral, students learn the basics of DNA testing. Suspects include global warming, sedimentation, and other threats facing coral reefs today. This activity is designed for 15 students, but can be modified for 12–24 students. A narrated PowerPoint that provides background information on coral reefs can be shared in advance in a separate lesson. The total class time for the PowerPoint, skit, and pre- and post-surveys is about 100 minutes.

OCEAN ACIDIFICATION

Grades 6 - 12

Request this kit

 This two-lesson kit familiarizes students with the causes and consequences of ocean acidification: the process by which our ocean is becoming increasingly acidic. Ocean acidification is caused by increasing atmospheric concentrations of CO2, some of which dissolves in the ocean and forms an acid. An acidic ocean poses threats to marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs, and even plankton. Ocean acidification is one of the most serious environmental issues facing the planet and is predicted to have devastating impacts within the next century. Lesson 1 includes a simple hands-on experiment, a short PowerPoint, and optional readings with worksheets. In Lesson 2, students conduct a more in-depth experiment with electronic probes to simulate the process of ocean acidification. Each lesson will require approximately an hour. 

OCEAN CONVEYOR BELT

Grades 8 - 12 for Lessons 1&2
Grades 10-12 for Lessons 3&4

Request this kit

 

 Ocean Conveyor Belt Kit image collecting and analyzing oceanographic data help students appreciate the relevance of marine science to their own lives and to understand the value of technology in science. This four-lesson kit introduces students to some fundamental concepts in oceanography including ocean circulation, nutrient cycling, and variations in the chemical, biological, and physical properties of seawater through hands-on and computer-based experiments. Each lesson is designed to be completed in about 70 minutes, but the activities are discrete and can be rearranged to fit various curricular objectives and time constraints.    

PLANKTON

Grades 3-12 for Lessons 1,2&3
Grades 6 - 12 for Lesson 4

Request this kit

 This kit explores plankton and their global importance through four lessons and an optional extension activity. Plankton are tiny plants (phytoplankton) and animals (zooplankton) that are incapable of swimming against major currents in the ocean. In Lesson 1 (40 minutes), students learn about plankton through a narrated PowerPoint presentation and investigate and identify various phytoplankton. In Lesson 2 (45 minutes), students design their own phytoplankton. In Lesson 3 (50 minutes), students investigate zooplankton with a microscope. In Lesson 4 (60 minutes), students use an educational CD and virtual microscope to explore phytoplankton, learn about environmental factors that affect phytoplankton growth and distribution, and run a computer simulation to generate phytoplankton blooms. Lessons 1, 2, and 3 are suitable for Grades 3–12, whereas Lesson 4 is geared toward Grades 6–12. Computers (not provided) are required for Lesson 4, and the students (or the teacher) must provide the supplies for the optional extension activity. 

 

PRINTABLE RESOURCES

Download these printable resources (in .pdf format) for use in your classroom and while visiting the HMSC:

  • Visitor Center Activity Guides - Students can use these self-guided worksheets to help them explore the HMSC Visitor Center.
  • Quests - Both indoor and outdoor clue-directed hunts are available at the HMSC Visitor Center.  Download tips for Questing with school groups.
  • Using Real-Time Data: A Resource Guide - This guide contains links to a host of Internet sites that have real-time information that will enhance traditional classroom lessons. With these resources your students can use real-time data to investigate earth systems.
  • Oregon: 150 Years of Statehood - This teachers' guide was created by the Sea Grant Education Program to accompany a special exhibit at the Oregon State Capitol during 2009 and 2010 celebrating the 150th anniversary of statehood. Download the guide for use during your class visit to the Capitol.
  • Simple Classroom Refractometer - These instructions detail how to make a refractometer to measure salinity in a classroom setting.  
  • Marine Bioinvasions Lab - Learn about the invasion happening in the Yaquina Bay Estuary and learn how to sample a report data on shimp specis, size, sex, and parasites!

Visit the Web-based version of one of our featured exhibits, Rhythms of Our Coastal Waters: Yaquina Bay, from the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Sites, including downloadable real-time data sets. 

 

RESOURCES FROM OREGON SEA GRANT

AIS Toolkit - A teacher resource for aquatic invasive species education, including a a growing number of downloadable educational materials developed by classrooms and teachers around Oregon.

Earthquake and Tsunami Preparedness - Hazards associated with Oregon's coast include the likelihood of of earthquakes and tsunami events occurring within our lifetimes. OSU Sea Grant Extension Hazards Outreach Specialist Pat Corcoran has a website full of .pdfs and videos about how to prepare for and what to do in the case of an earthquake and tsunami.

Publications and videos on a wide variety of marine science topics, many available as free downloads.

 

WEB RESOURCES

Web sites containing curricula, lesson plans, real-time data and other resources for marine science education:

Bridge: Ocean Sciences Education K-12 Resource Center - A collection of K-12 resources for marine science education on-line, including lesson plans and links to resource providers, professional development and grant opportunities. Resources are organized into topic areas and grade levels.

CIESE - The Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education sponsors and designs interdisciplinary projects that teachers throughout the world can use to enhance their curriculum through compelling use of the Internet.

COSEE - Centers for Ocean Science Education Excellence is a nationwide network of ocean science research institutions, informal science education organizations, and formal education entities, funded primarily by the National Science Foundation with support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  The Best of COSEE Hands-On Acitivities can be found by subject, grade level, or Ocean Literacy Principle from the top menu.

CreatureCast - CreatureCast is a collaborative blog produced by members of the Dunn Lab at Brown University, along with assorted friends. Clever videos explain topics such as "Squid Iridescence" and "Mating When You Are Stuck To a Rock".

Estuaries.gov - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) have collaborated to produce a site containing everything you ever wanted to know about estuaries, how they function and the creatures that live there. Lesson plans, animations, tutorials and games.  Includes an entire "Estuaries 101 Curriculum" and links to using real-time data from estuaries around the country.

Nab the Aquatic Invader - Oregon Sea Grant helped develop this web-based education program about aquatic invasive species. Designed for students in grades 4-10, participants become crime-fighters who seek out and identify the troublesome characters found in our region and elsewhere in the U.S.

NOAA Education Resources Page - Links to a variety of lesson plans, videos, and activities related to marine topics. Covers everything from tsunamis to coral reefs to fisheries. Make sure to check out the Office of Ocean Exploration & Research under the Education Programs tab for near real-time access to a series of multidisciplinary ocean explorations. It also provides compelling imagery, video, and topical essays related to the ocean, along with lesson plans, career information and puzzles.

North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) - A collection of links to resources for environmental education related to marine topics.

Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME) - This regional group of educators holds informative conferences and workshops in the Pacific Northwest.

Sea Grant Education Network - This national network of marine education professionals working through the National Sea Grant College Program offers links to classroom materials and resources.

USGS Education - Why is ocean water salty?  Explore the USGS K-6 and learn the answer to this and other questions about water, erosion, earthquakes, tsunamis and much more. 

WISE - The Web-Based Inquiry Science Environment is a simple yet powerful learning environment where students examine real world evidence and analyze current scientific controversies.

 

Critter Corner