NOAA Sea to Sky: Education resource database

⚠️ 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.”

 

Audience

Grade 3-5
Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Resource type

Video

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Marine life
Fish
Fisheries and seafood
Endangered species

Special categories

Other languages
Spanish

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Marine life

Goliath grouper can grow to more than eight feet in length and 800 pounds. These giant groupers were once so overfished in the Southeastern United States, they were considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Thankfully, a vocal and dedicated group of fishers and marine scientists worked together to prompt NOAA to ban all harvest of goliath grouper. This action in the early 1990s gave the grouper time to recover and gave scientists time to learn more about this fish in hopes of sustaining its rebound.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12

Subject

Engineering and technology
Earth science

Resource type

Advanced data product
Data product

Topic

Technology and engineering
Mapping and charting

This page is starting out with the most basic and most requested NMSP GIS data files (Esri shapefiles and Google KML files). All files on this page are FGDC metadata compliant and additional data will be added as metadata is collected or generated.

Audience

Grade 3-5
Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Resource type

Video

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Ocean currents
Tides

Special categories

Safety/preparedness

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Danger zone

Join Bruckner Chase in the Ocean Today Wave Safe series as we learn how to stay safe while exploring marine sanctuaries.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8
Grade 3-5

Subject

Social studies
Life science

Resource type

Video
Multimedia

Topic

Marine life
Ecosystems
Fisheries and seafood
Aquatic food webs

So exactly how does seafood get from ocean to plate? This video shows the journey U.S. seafood makes to get to your table, as well as tips to get to know your seafood better.

Audience

Grade 3-5
Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Resource type

Video

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Technology and engineering
Maritime archaeology and history
ROVs, AUVs, and drones
Ocean exploration

Special categories

Cultural heritage
Other languages
Spanish

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Exploration

In the waters near the entrance to the Golden Gate, there are an estimated 300 shipwrecks – just waiting to be discovered.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Engineering and technology
Earth science

Resource type

Video
Multimedia

Topic

Technology and engineering
Weather and atmosphere
ROVs, AUVs, and drones
Hurricanes

This video highlights the use of uncrewed gliders to improve hurricane intensity forecasts. Improvements in hurricane intensity forecasts for the Atlantic have lagged in comparison to hurricane track forecasts. Rapid hurricane intensification is often observed when tropical cyclones move over warm ocean features, given appropriate atmospheric conditions. AOML plays a key role in collecting and maintaining sustained ocean observations that monitor the thermal structure of these warm ocean features using drifters, Argo floats, XBTs, moorings, etc. Since 2014, sustained and targeted ocean observations have been gathered in support of hurricane intensity forecasts using underwater gliders.

Audience

Grade 3-5
Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Video

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
Technology and engineering
Ships and planes
Hurricanes

Special categories

Other languages
Spanish

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Marine life

For the last five years, NOAA has teamed up with NASA to fly NASA’s Global Hawk unmanned aircraft to get an inside look at how hurricanes form and intensify over the Atlantic.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12

Subject

Engineering and technology
Earth science
Physical science

Resource type

Intermediate data product
Data product

Topic

Technology and engineering
Ocean and coasts
Buoys
Ocean currents

Explore drifter buoy data in several formats, including an interactive map.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science
Life science

Resource type

Easy-to-use data product
Data product

Topic

Marine life
Climate
Weather and atmosphere
Ocean and coasts
Coral reef ecosystems
Climate data monitoring
Climate change impacts
El Niño and La Niña
Ocean currents

View recent and real-time sea surface temperature data.

Audience

Grade 3-5
Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Video

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Climate
Technology and engineering
Sea level rise
Climate change impacts
Buoys
Resiliency and mitigation

Special categories

Other languages
Spanish

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Research

Why does seal level change and how might rising sea levels affect people living on the coasts?