⚠️ This page recently underwent an update. If you had bookmarked direct links to search results from this page prior to March 18, 2024, those links may no longer work and you may need to make a new bookmark. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at education@noaa.gov.
Welcome to our searchable database of education resources created by NOAA and our partners. If you have issues or feedback, please let us know by filling out our feedback form offsite link or sending us an email at education@noaa.gov.
Tips for using the database
Searching for terms that contain more than one word.
Use quotation marks around multiple-word phrases you want to search. For example, searching “climate change” will return resources about “climate change.” If you don’t include quotation marks, it will return resources that include either the word “climate” or “change.”
Opening resources in a new tab.
Follow the instructions below for the device you are using.
- PC: Hold down the control (ctrl) key while clicking the link. Or, right-click the link and select “open in new tab.”
- Mac: Hold down the command key while clicking the link.
- iPhone or iPad: Press and hold the link. Select “open in new tab” from the pop-up menu.
- Android device: Press and hold the link. Select “open in new tab” from the pop-up menu
Expanding categories.
Each category has a plus sign (+) to expand the available filters within the category. Some categories have subcategories. Look for the plus sign (+) to see more filterable items.
Making the most of the filterable categories.
There are several categories you can use to filter through the resources.
- “Audience” filters by grade level, including postsecondary education, and also has a filter option for adult learners.
- “Subject” filters by the general subject area, such as Arts, Earth science, Math, and more.
- “Resource Type” filters allow you to look for resources ranging from activities, lessons, and units to videos or background information.
- “Topic” filters are more specific than subject. They include filters such as climate, freshwater, and weather and atmosphere.
- “NGSS DCI” filters by Next Generation Science Standards Disciplinary Core Ideas. Only activities, lessons, and units (and no other resource types) have NGSS DCI associated with them. Not all activities, lessons, and units have this alignment.
- “Special categories” offers additional filters for specific types of resources and topics, such as printables, resources available in other languages, and safety/preparedness.
Exploring activities, lessons, and units.
Activities, lessons, and units are bundled together under resource type. You can expand to filter for only one type. Activity/demonstration refers to straightforward activities with little or no classroom strategy or pedagogy. Lesson refers to structured activities that are intended for a classroom audience. Module/unit refers to a collection of lessons that can build upon each other over multiple class periods or times of instruction; some people might call this a curriculum.
Understanding instructional strategies.
Within special categories, there is an expandable filter called “instructional strategies.” This includes special filters that are applicable for some lessons, activities, and units, including things like “outdoor education” and “uses data.”
- Activities, lessons, and units (105)
- Arts and crafts (1)
- Background information (99)
- Career profile (50)
- Citizen science project (2)
- Collection (100)
- Coloring/activity book (15)
- Contest (1)
- Data product (56)
- Job seeker resource (6)
- Multimedia (370)
- NOAA Education resource collection (7)
- Poster/brochure (12)
- Related story (65)
- Climate (278)
- Freshwater (164)
- Marine life
(483)
- Adaptations (11)
- Aquatic food webs (58)
- Coral reef ecosystems (86)
- Conservation (31)
- Ecosystems (116)
- Endangered species (20)
- Entanglement (17)
- Fish (100)
- Fisheries and seafood (112)
- Invasive marine species (9)
- Invertebrates (91)
- Life in an estuary (36)
- Marine mammals (136)
- Plankton (15)
- Salmon (23)
- Sea turtles (64)
- Seabirds (31)
- Seaweed, algae, and aquatic plants (24)
- Sharks, rays, and skates (39)
- NOAA careers (28)
- (-)
Ocean and coasts
(667)
- Earth processes (16)
- Harmful algal blooms (19)
- Maritime archaeology and history (35)
- Ocean acidification (66)
- Ocean chemistry (16)
- Ocean currents (95)
- Ocean exploration (81)
- Ocean floor features (86)
- Ocean pollution and marine debris (176)
- Ocean sounds (15)
- Oil spills (58)
- Rip currents (22)
- Sea level rise (41)
- Tides (59)
- Tsunamis (56)
- Space (50)
- Technology and engineering (293)
- Weather and atmosphere (328)
- ESS1: Earth’s Place in the Universe (2)
- ESS2: Earth’s Systems (30)
- ESS3: Earth and Human Activity (36)
- ETS1: Engineering Design (20)
- LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes (10)
- LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics (27)
- LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits (1)
- LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity (15)
- PS1: Matter and Its Interactions (25)
- PS2: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions (3)
- PS3: Energy (5)
- PS4: Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer (6)
- Adopt a Drifter Program (1)
- B-WET grantee (4)
- Bite-sized Science webinar series (1)
- CIRES/NOAA Science@Home webinar (1)
- CLEAN climate and energy education resource collection (1)
- Climate change in Alaska video series (1)
- Data in the Classroom (3)
- Deep Ocean Education Project Website (1)
- Deep ocean fact sheets (1)
- Deep-sea dialogues (2)
- Diving Deeper podcast (2)
- Do you NOAA? (1)
- EarthLabs (1)
- ELP grantee (2)
- Estuary Education website (1)
- Exploring our fluid Earth (1)
- Faces of the National Weather Service (1)
- Finding fish hotspots and mapping coral reefs (1)
- H.O.M.E.S. at Home webinars (1)
- JetStream: An online school for weather (1)
- Making Waves podcast (4)
- Marine Careers: A Sea Grant guide to ocean opportunities (1)
- Marine Debris at-home collection (1)
- Marine Debris Program posters (1)
- Marine Debris STEAMSS (4)
- Marine Debris Toolkit (1)
- Maritime Archaeology (1)
- MOSAiC: Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate videos (1)
- MOSAiC: Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate virtual reality tours (1)
- National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) (1)
- National Marine Ecosystem Status (1)
- National Marine Sanctuaries Webinar Series: Archived webinars (3)
- NOAA and the Octonauts podcast (1)
- NOAA Boulder Labs: Meet our team (1)
- NOAA Boulder Virtual 8th Grade Science Days (1)
- NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps (1)
- NOAA Digital Coast (2)
- NOAA Fisheries YouTube (1)
- NOAA Live! 4 Kids (1)
- NOAA Live! Alaska (1)
- NOAA Marine Debris Program (5)
- NOAA Ocean Podcast (1)
- NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer: Education materials collection (1)
- Ocean Acidification Communication Toolkit: Dungeness crab case study (1)
- Ocean Exploration careers (2)
- Ocean Exploration educational materials (8)
- Ocean Exploration facts (2)
- Ocean facts (3)
- Ocean Today (237)
- Octonauts Corner (1)
- Oregon Marine Scientist and Educator Alliance (ORSEA) (1)
- Pacific Tsunami Warning Center animations and short videos (1)
- Sanctuaries 360 virtual dives (1)
- Sanctuaries LIVE Interactions (1)
- Sanctuaries media gallery (1)
- Sanctuaries resource collection: Coral reef ecosystems (1)
- Sanctuaries resource collection: Ocean sound and impact of noise (3)
- Science On a Sphere catalog (6)
- SciJinks (3)
- Sea Grant podcasts (5)
- Sea-Earth-Atmosphere (SEA) resources (1)
- Signals of Spring ACES (Animals in Curriculum-based Ecosystem Studies) (1)
- Teacher at Sea (2)
- Underwater robot education theme (1)
- Women in science profiles (1)
Audience
Subject
Resource type
Topic
These days plastic seems to be everywhere; unfortunately, that includes many parts of the ocean, from the garbage patches to Arctic sea ice. With this pollution increasingly in the form of tiny plastic bits, picking up a few bottles left on the beach can feel far removed from the massive problem of miniscule plastics floating out at sea. However, these two issues are more closely connected than you may think.
Audience
Subject
Resource type
Topic
NGSS DCI
Special categories
Collection name
Near spreading centers or subduction zones cold seawater percolates down through fissures in the ocean crust, is heated by hot magma, and reemerges, forming hydrothermal vents. At some vents known as black smokers, rocky chimneys can rise more than 50 meters from the sea floor. In this investigation, students explore how a solid forms from the mixing of two liquids and use the science ideas they develop to help explain how chimneys form at hydrothermal vents.
Audience
Subject
Resource type
Topic
Information about the causes of oil spills.
Audience
Subject
Resource type
Topic
How do we monitor currents?
Audience
Subject
Resource type
Topic
Preventing oil spills is key, but since killer whales, also known as orcas, spend much of their time in the busy waters around Seattle, the San Juan Islands, and Vancouver, British Columbia, there is always a chance a spill could impact them.
Audience
Subject
Resource type
Topic
Special categories
Try this slick and simple experiment for elementary school students in class or at home to see how oil behaves with water.
Audience
Subject
Resource type
Topic
NGSS DCI
Special categories
Collection name
Hands-on activities and a selection of videos will show students how increasing ocean noise affects whales and their ability to communicate with each other. Students will learn how whales communicate, how sound travels in waves, and how sound travels faster in water than in air. Students will also learn how the deployment and recovery of acoustic mooring devices help scientists measure ocean noise. After students take a mini-assessment, the lesson invites students to think of solutions to help the whales.
Audience
Resource type
Topic
Special categories
Collection name
During horseshoe crab spawning season, volunteers are dispatched along the Mid-Atlantic coast to help scientists track their populations. Learn how citizen scientists track the data and have fun on the "big crab count"!
Audience
Subject
Resource type
Topic
NGSS DCI
Collection name
Despite its importance, the majority of our ocean is largely unknown. However, through exploration, we're learning more about its biological, chemical, physical, geological, and archaeological aspects. Exploration leads to discovery, but before we can truly explore, we must map. Learn more about how we explore the ocean and how we estimate what is left to explore!
Audience
Subject
Resource type
Topic
Special categories
Stay safe with rip current awareness.