NOAA Sea to Sky: Education resource database

When you think of springtime on land, you might think of birds migrating, flowers blooming, and leaves emerging. While these changes are happening on land, changes are happening in the ocean, too! But how can you tell if spring has sprung in the sea? This graphic explains some of the seasonal effects that take place as ocean waters warm and days grow longer.

University of Southern California (USC) Sea Grant's Education Specialist, Maria Madrigal's book, STEAM Powered Series: Marine Biology offsite link, focuses on her specialty in marine science education and highlights her Hispanic heritage. The book follows Cora and her friend, Bonnie the butterfly, as they discover the different ways scientists study what is underwater. This book focuses on topics that are accessible and local to Los Angeles students and highlighted themes common to USC Sea Grant's work: Cora and Bonnie explore kelp forests, plankton and harmful algal blooms, grunion fish, and tidepool monitoring, while venturing out to free and accessible areas that children can enjoy, such as docks, the beach, and aquariums. The book is also available in Spanish offsite link.

Celebrate the season of spring with NOAA! From new graphics to educational resources, spring into science with us and check out our content.

Kelp forests are an important ecosystem that support a variety of species and grow predominantly along the Eastern Pacific Coast, from Alaska and Canada to the waters of Baja, California. Kelp forests can be found in four of our national marine sanctuaries along the West Coast of the United States. This collection has compiled wide-ranging resources from lesson plans, webinars, web stories, virtual reality videos, and more. You are invited to learn more about the importance of Kelp Forest Ecosystems, NOAA’s efforts to manage and conserve them, the species that call these forests home, and the threats kelp face.

Learn more about Antarctic krill, which are small crustaceans.

Learn about animals that live on ice: penguins, polar bears, beluga, Antarctic krill, and walrus. How have they adapted to such a cold environment?

These 30-minute webinars are presented by Florida Sea Grant extension agents and specialists. They focus on marine and coastal science topics, specifically related to Florida. Some webinars were presented in Spanish.

The Exploring our Fluid Earth modules comprise the essential elements of a year-long course in marine science at the middle and high school level. Modules focus on the physics, chemistry, biology, ecology, and technology of aquatic systems and on the researchers who study them. Each module comprises a series of related lessons that build conceptual understanding. The integration of disciplines provides multiple entry points to the curriculum materials, which teachers can approach from the perspective of their respective disciplines. The modules also provide a unique opportunity for subject area teachers (i.e. biology, chemistry, physics) to utilize portions of the curriculum in their teaching—to teach their course concepts in the context of the aquatic environment.

Marine debris is a pervasive, global problem and one that is felt locally in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Through a NOAA Marine Debris Program prevention grant, the University of the Virgin Islands(link is external) adapted and revised marine debris lessons for USVI, including Oregon Marine Debris STEAMSS, Turning the Tide on Trash, and Talking Trash and Taking Action. The curriculum was co-created with the input of educators from USVI who participated in workshops and provided input following in-class use. The curriculum also includes 15 spotlights, which highlight USVI-specific marine debris research, local researchers, community-led prevention efforts, and natural disaster impacts from marine debris.

Lurking in the waters of the western Atlantic is an unwelcome predator. A predator that is beautiful – yet deadly. A stealthy, ambush predator with venomous spines, potential prey fall easy victim to the invasive Red Lionfish.