Students will learn what marine mammal stranding is, how to read and interpret data to determine where and why strandings are occurring, and create a PSA to raise awareness about proper response to strandings. The data used in this lesson was provided by the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network. This lesson can also be adapted […]
Much of the data available to students wanting to understand marine biology requires understanding why, where and how animals are observed. This lesson will serve to create this baseline and introduce students to real datasets. Students will discuss what data they would want to get from animals in the wild. They will work as groups […]
Summary: Around the world and throughout history, humans have impacted the Earth and its animal populations. Students will read and interpret scientific and math data involving animal populations, habitat temperature change, as it correlates to the Co2 changes from the impact of the Industrial Revolution. We attempted to include many different standards from different content […]
Scientists doing recent cetacean research around the Antarctic Peninsula have noticed that the Humpbacks whales are staying about a month longer along the Western Peninsula. Students will be asked to come up with a hypothesis for why the whales are staying longer. Then, students will look at and analyze the scientists’ whale tagging data. Students […]
Students will analyze data collected from an actual research excursion in Antarctica. Students will apply knowledge learned about ocean currents, gyres, and garbage patches, to make inferences about the presence of microplastics in Antarctica. Students will address the problem of microplastics and design a solution on a school level to raise awareness of the threat […]
This investigation will focus on the impact microplastics are making on the Gulf Coast. Water and sediment/sand samples will be collected at specific locations along the Gulf Coast and analyzed for microfibers, micro-fragments, and microbeads. Students will be comparing the amount of microplastics in each location, the type of microplastics in each location, and the areas […]
Students will analyze data using statistics to connect human population to the amount of as well as the types of microplastic found in the ecosystems of Antarctica, the Gulf of Mexico and a local fresh water source in order to create a Public Service Announcement to influence their community to reduce the use of plastics.
Students will analyze microplastic data collected in two locations in Antarctica; discover types of microplastics found in the marine environment; represent this data in three types of graphs then draw conclusions from the data.
This 5E lesson on glaciers opens with a clip from Ice Age and a demonstration of glacial melt involving ice cubes on various surfaces. For the Exploration, students execute experiments to model environmental conditions on glacial melt through using flubber, concluding with a webquest to connect these concepts to glaciers and changes in climate overall. Next, students graph […]
Students will explore the history, climate, and ecosystem of Antarctica as they access various documents and real scientific data collected by researchers during field experiences along the West Antarctic Peninsula. Significant events in Antarctic Exploration, Research, Technology, and Policy will be discussed and relevant concepts and principles relevant to climate and polar literacy standards will […]
The use of technology is critical in studying Humpback whales. Students will explore the use of tagging technologies in the research being conducted in the southern ocean around Antarctica. Students will simulate this tagging data in the classroom and will need to analyze, model, and interpret their data.
This lesson allows students to access personal narratives of marine scientists talking about the equipment that they use to study the ocean and the data that they collected. Students will use a VoiceThread with short scientist videos and pictures of their data to deepen their understanding of the process of science.
Help the penguins find their lunch! Students will be solving the Adelie Penguin Mystery of the missing lunch based on the data collected in Antarctica by Dr. Josh Kohut. The clues will help the class unlock the boxes and solve the mystery with the BreakoutEDU game platform. Students will work collaboratively to problem solve and […]
The lesson incorporates the Polar Literacy Standards with Polar Ice Data Stories (data from scientists in polar regions) as a game that culminates with student creation of a research project that is voted on for funding by their peers. Students will investigate differences between Arctic and Antarctic regions through game questions and analyze data provided […]
What does the color of the water tell you about conditions in marine and freshwater environments? What are the variables that affect that color? In this lesson students will participate in a variety of activities that allows them to brainstorm what impacts the color of our global water. They will perform research, analyse graphs and […]
Underwater gliders used by scientists are the future of oceanic exploration. Follow the steps in this mini-unit to learn about data collected off the coast of Antarctica and how science and technology blend to collect data where humans cannot venture. Students will also engage in an engineering design challenge to assist scientists as they continue […]
This activity provides an opportunity for students to use various resources including hands-on lab, vector analysis and a case study to determine what caused the massive bird death in Monterey Bay.
This activity will help familiarize student with methods scientists use to study the ocean floor, and will encourage them to pose and investigate their own questions about the ocean.
Marine debris, especially plastics, are transported through the watershed via wind and water currents. Eventually, they end up in the ocean where they have a direct negative impact on marine life and an indirect negative impact on human life. In this lesson, students will collect debris on their school grounds,“x” number of miles from the […]
Students will learn about oil-eating bacteria. They will determine the best environmental conditions necessary for oil digestion.
Research programs at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) encompass the entire ocean, from the surface waters to the deep seafloor, and from the coastal zone to the open sea. The need to understand the ocean in all its complexity and variability drives MBARI's research and development efforts.