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Add a comment or suggestion in  any column. Add posts for learning activities, resources and field trip ideas.

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Watch with your family.

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Activity: How to Make an Underwater Viewer

If you are planning a trip to the beach, have your kids make a viewer they can take with them and use to watch things living in the water. (You can also use this in a nearby pond.)

You will need:

1 clean empty tin can (a small coffee can will work well)

1 gallon size plastic zip-lock bag

1 or 2 thick rubber bands that will fit tightly over the can

Black paint (optional)

Plastic waterproof tape (optional)

To make the viewer, use a can-opener to remove both ends of the can. Painting the inside of the can black will make it easier to see animals underwater. Cut off the zipper and the three sealed sides of the plastic bag to make two sheets of plastic. Place one piece of plastic over an end of the can and secure it with the rubber bands (throw the other piece away). Make sure to pull the plastic tightly over the rim of the can to make a smooth viewing surface. Sealing the edges of the plastic above the rubber bands with waterproof tape will help keep water out of the viewer. To use the viewer, stick the plastic-covered end into the water and look through the open end.

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MARE Ocean's Week or Ocean Immersion is when a whole school community, including faculty, students and families, comes together to celebrate and learn about the ocean.

Each of our Preschool and K-5 classes will focus on a marine habitat, enriched with related technology, books, field experiences, assemblies and other learning activities. Our students will discover ocean sciences through hands-on, inquiry-based curricula.

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 Each grade focuses on a different marine habitat.

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 Each grade focuses on a different marine habitat.

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Preschool: Freshwater Pond

Kindergarten: Freshwater Pond

1st Grade: Life at the Seashore

2nd Grade: The Sandy Beach

3rd Grade: Wetlands Habitats

4th Grade: Kelp Forest

5th Grade: Open Ocean

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Live Web Cams

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With ten live cams to choose from, you can experience the wonder of the ocean no matter where you are. Be delighted by the antics of our sea otters or mellow out to the hypnotic drifting of our jellies. Tune in to one of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's web cams.

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What patterns do we observe in the body shapes of fishes that live in the same habitat?

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Students investigate ocean currents and ocean layers.

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A program of the Lawrence Hall of Science that seeks to increase ocean literacy through informal and formal education initiatives

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Climate Change and the Ocean

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Anemone Swims Away From Sea Star (with Lesson Plans)

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Cnidarians: Anemone Swims Away From Sea Star

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An anemone swims away from an attacking sea star.

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Kelp Forest Digital Resources Teacher's Guide

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Kelp Forest Digital Resources Teacher's Guide

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The Kelp Forest: The Young Explorer’s Guide

The Kelp Forest: My Aquarium

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Environmental Awareness

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Directions to Duxbury Reef Tidepools

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DIRECTIONS TO DUXBURY REEF FROM GSLS 2018

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The interconnectedness of habitats and creating ocean food webs.

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A program of the Lawrence Hall of Science that seeks to increase ocean literacy through informal and formal education initiatives

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What behaviors and body parts do crabs have to help them survive?

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Kelp forests provide food and shelter for thousands of species

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In ideal conditions, kelp can grow up to 18 inches per day, and in stark contrast to the colorful and slow-growing corals, the giant kelp canopies tower above the ocean floor. Like trees in a forest, these giant algae provide food and shelter for many organisms. Also like a terrestrial forest, kelp forests experience seasonal changes. Storms and large weather events, like El Niño, can tear and dislodge the kelp, leaving a tattered winter forest to begin its growth again each spring.

Kelp forests can be seen along much of the west coast of North America. Kelp are large brown algae that live in cool, relatively shallow waters close to the shore. They grow in dense groupings much like a forest on land. These underwater towers of kelp provide food and shelter for thousands of fish, invertebrates, and marine mammal species.

Kelp forests harbor a greater variety and higher diversity of plants and animals than almost any other ocean community. Many organisms use the thick blades as a safe shelter for their young from predators or even rough storms.

Among the many mammals and birds that use kelp forests for protection or feeding are seals, sea lions, whales, sea otters, gulls, terns, snowy egrets, great blue herons, cormorants, and shore birds.

These dense canopies of algae generally occur in cold, nutrient-rich waters. Because of their dependency upon light for photosynthesis, kelp forests form in shallow open waters and are rarely found deeper than 49-131 feet.

NOAA scientists study kelp forests by visiting the same locations over and over to assess the presence and abundance of a variety of organisms. Monitoring allows marine scientists to determine if the kelp forest is changing over time and to identify the cause of those changes, whether natural or human.

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national oceanic and atmospheric administration

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In the U.S., where over half of us live along the coast and more than 78 percent of our overseas trade by volume comes and goes along our marine highways, the health of our coasts is intricately connected to the health of our nation's economy.