Students use photographs taken with satellites and drones to observe changes on Earth. The students will make inferences based on their observations and calculations to make claims about seasonal ice/snow coverage in the Arctic and whale size and behaviour in the Antarctic.
Climate change is a topic we hear about every day, from increasing sea levels, warming oceans, and melting polar ice caps. But is climate change impacting our salmon populations? Students will utilize Pacific Decadal Oscillation data, and Coho and Chinook Salmon data to explore the connection between salmon returns and water temperature.
This lesson is aimed at helping students improve their skills with claims, evidence, and reasoning. There are two case studies available, one on ocean acidification and one on invasive species. Students will watch an introduction video, read and explore information on the topic, then answer prompts based on data (temperature, salinity, and pH for ocean […]
Students will be introduced to an array of marine advocates including scientists, artists, educators and students. These films can be used to introduce students to marine advocates/enthusiasts on a personal level and as introduction to a variety of ways to implement marine advocacy into a career.
Using marine mammal stranding data, students will create a model to document the location of strandings on the Oregon coast. The data will be coded to include anthropogenic (human) reasons for strandings which will lead the students to look for patterns and develop future research questions. Students will map 40 data points of ten different […]
Earth has finite resources, and as a result, matter recycles throughout the world by biogeochemical cycles. The Carbon/Oxygen Cycle is a biogeochemical cycle that is driven by photosynthesis and cellular respiration. As a result of organisms performing these two processes, levels of dissolved oxygen (DO) change within water columns. Inspired by the information available via […]
Students will start by completing a webquest on the different equipment that can be found at an ocean observatory. They will explore a variety of research equipment used to determine the biochemical and geophysical activities of our oceans. Students will be able to compare and contrast data for inshore vs offshore mooring systems and gliders. […]
This lesson plan is an extension of the Blue Mud Shrimp Mystery adding information and activities on the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) threatening the white tail deer and elk population in Pennsylvania and other places. It will align with the Pennsylvania Academic Standards, NGSS, and the PA Game Commission environmental education public outreach program. It will be […]
This is an introductory lesson to familiarize students with how ROVs are built and why ROVs are used. Students will observe a variety of deep sea organisms using MBARI YouTube videos and the MBARI Deep Sea guide. Students will explore the subject of why and how ROVs are used to collect data regarding the deep sea. Students will […]
This short activity allows students to visualize the negative impacts on ocean organisms as the pH of the ocean drops (ocean acidification or OA). It focuses on the how the changes in ocean chemistry, as more CO2 dissolves in the water, affects life in the ocean. Student groups play four rounds of a modified card […]
Students will have personal experience of increasing pressure. Those experiences can be extended to understand animals at different depths. Then they will use MBARI’s Deep Sea Guide to find animals, and put them on a vertical crosscut of the bay.
MIDDLE SCHOOL LESSON: This activity was written with a middle school audience in mind, and provides an introduction to ocean acidification using a video from the California Academy of Sciences. After the introduction, students are guided through a yearlong, seasonal sampling of 1 or more bodies of water in their geographical area (the Pacific Coast of […]
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.
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.