Watershed Walkabout: Young Ecologists
AVAILABLE MARCH 1ST!
Meet a real Marine Conservation Biologist with our BRAND NEW signature in-school field trip program! In this interactive, inquiry-based opportunity, your students will learn all about marine science, ecology, and conservation from an expert in the field. These age-appropriate STEAM lessons are taught exclusively to students in New Hanover, Pender, Onslow, and Brunswick Counties, NC. They are all correlated to the Next Generation Science Standards, NC Foundations for Early Learning and Development, and Ocean and Climate Literacy Standards. Check out how we meet the standards HERE.
Here's how it works:
Choose a lesson, contact our Director of Education to schedule a day that's suitable for you and the other teachers in your grade, and she'll bring the science to you! She doesn't need an auditorium or a gymnasium because her presentation style requires her to be in your individual classroom with your students. Each is hands-on, so students get the most out of the 35-45 minute lessons.
NEW POLICY FOR 2025-26! $65 base fee *non-refundable* deposit to secure a date on our calendar and $30 each additional class due on the day of the program. Deposits by Check or by Credit Card through Square or Venmo. We use this flat rate so it's cheaper for your students. For example: 4 classes = $155 (plus tax). For 100 students total, that would be less than $2/student! We can only accept check or money order at this time. Registration must be made at least two weeks in advance and cancellations must be made within 24 hours of the scheduled date. (PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND MAY INCLUDE TRAVEL)
AVAILABLE ACTIVITIES MARCH 1ST!
Aquatic Ecosystem Investigations:
3 - 4 years:
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Layer It Up - There are different layers of the ocean based on how much light can be seen and absorbed. Young ecologists will be introduced to aquatic wildlife at each layer based on their adaptations for living in limited light ecosystems. (craft/art component)
NC Foundations: APL-1, APL-5, HPD-5, LDC-1, LDC-2, CD-1, CD-10, CD-14, CD-15
4 - 5 years:
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The Ocean Deep *(LIMITED ON SUPPLIES)* - Young ecologists will explore different layers of the ocean by using colors to distinguish between them and identifying organisms that inhabit them. They will match each organism with their respective layer and then stack them to demonstrate how the ocean gets darker as you go deeper. (craft/art component, water-based)
NC Foundations: APL-1, APL-5, HPD-5, LDC-1, LDC-2, CD-1, CD-10, CD-14, CD-15
Trophic Dynamics:
3 - 4 years:
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Stackable Food Chain - This activity is where the comprehension of aquatic food chains begins. This craft activity allows young ecologists the opportunity to explore their creative side while incorporating the understanding that everything needs to eat to survive. (craft/art component)
NC Foundations: APL-1, APL-5, HPD-5, LDC-1, LDC-2, LDC-5, CD-2, CD-5, CD-12. CD-15
4 - 5 years:
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Linked By Food - This activity introduces young ecologists to the concepts of multiple food chains connected to each other in a food web. They will have the opportunity to create paper food chains and connect them to each other to make an ecosystem (classroom) food web. (craft/art component)
NC Foundations: APL-1, APL-5, HPD-5, LDC-1, LDC-2, LDC-5, CD-2, CD-5, CD-12, CD-15
Barrier Island Breakdown:
3 - 4 years:
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Sea Shell Sort - How many young ecologists love to go to the beach and pick up random seashells? This activity will introduce young ecologists to the Phylum Mollusca. They will be able to differentiate between common species by organizing them by size. This activity also builds on their knowledge and learning of numbers and shapes.
NC Foundations: APL-1, APL-2, APL-3, APL-5, ESD-4, ESD-5, HPD-5, LDC-1, LDC-2, LDC-4,
CD-1, CD-11, CD-14, CD-15
4 -5 years:
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What's Under the Sand? - Young ecologists will identify sand-dwelling organisms and understand how they have adapted to living under the sand we stand on when we go to the beach. This activity also incorporates chemistry as young ecologists use a vinegar base to react with the substrate to discover the common species hidden underneath.
NC Foundations: APL-1, APL-2, APL-3, APL-5, ESD-4, ESD-5, HPD-5, LDC-1, LDC-2, LDC-4,
CD-1, CD-14, CD-15
Salt Marsh Savvy:
3 - 4 years:
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Crab Grab - This interactive activity gives young ecologists an opportunity to learn common adaptations of predators and prey of the blue crab while living in the salt marsh ecosystem. They will also learn about blue crab conservation and how humans have impacted the species through habitat alteration, overfishing, and taking away their food.
NC Foundations: APL-1, APL-2, APL-4, APL-5, ESD-4, ESD-5, HPD-4, HPD-5, LDC-1, LDC-2,
CD-2, CD-10, CD-14, CD-15
4 -5 years:
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Sea Jellies Among Us - Get up close and personal with sea jellies without getting stung. Students will learn which species may inhabit the estuary and how their bodies are quite similar to ours. They will then create their own sea jellies to take home. (craft/art component)
NC Foundations: APL-1, APL-2, APL-4, APL-5, ESD-4, ESD-5, HPD-4, HPD-5, LDC-1, LDC-2,
CD-2, CD-5, CD-14, CD-15
Mighty Migrations:
3 - 4 years:
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Flock Together *(LIMITED ON SUPPLIES)* - This interactive activity demonstrates the migration patterns of known species along the Atlantic coastal waterway. Young ecologists will learn what could happen to these species if their migration patterns were interrupted by an increase in predators or human interactions.
NC Foundations: APL-1, APL-2, APL-3, APL-4, APL-5, ESD-4, ESD-5, HPD-4, LDC-1, LDC-2,
CD-2, CD-5, CD-14
4 -5 years:
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Baleen In-Between - Different whales feed in different ways and this fun game demonstrates those feeding mechanisms. Students will understand what happens to both baleen and toothed whales when humans begin to interact with their food supplies. (water component)
NC Foundations: APL-1, APL-2, APL-3, APL-4, APL-5, ESD-4, ESD-5, HPD-5, LDC-1, LDC-2,
CD-2, CD-10, CD-14, CD-15
Oceanography/Climatology:
3 - 4 years:
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Ocean in a Bottle *(LIMITED ON SUPPLIES)* - Many different creatures live throughout the ocean, from the coast to the deep sea. In this craft activity, young ecologists will be creating their own ocean sensory bottles complete with sea creatures and ocean plants to show how animals live a strictly aquatic life. (craft/art component, water component)
NC Foundations: APL-1, APL-2, APL-4, APL-5, HPD-5, LDC-1, LDC-2, CD-2, CD-5, CD-14
4 -5 years:
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Waves of Fun *(LIMITED ON SUPPLIES)* - Many creatures live in the ocean, but few can survive in a coastal ecosystem, with waves and storms. This activity investigates how waves move and what animals may live close to the surface or are affected by waves. Young ecologists will be creating their own bottled ocean, complete with wave-riding sea creatures through this craft activity. (craft/art component, water component)
NC Foundations: APL-1, APL-2, APL-4, APL-5, HPD-5, LDC-1, LDC-2, CD-2, CD-5, CD-14
From Here to Marine Biologist:
3 - 4 years:
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Sea Animal Rescue - Humans and sea creatures interact with each other in many different ways. This activity uses fine motor skills to investigate those interactions in more detail. Young ecologists will understand the adaptations of sea life to survive and how humans can rescue and rehabilitate them when they are injured. (craft/art component)
NC Foundations: APL-1, APL-5, APL-6, APL-9, HPD-5, LDC-1, LDC-2, CD-2, CD-5, CD-14
4 -5 years:
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Elasmo-Craze - Sharks, rays, and skates are all cartilaginous fish. That means they only leave behind their teeth and some vertebrae. Students will have an opportunity to be archaeologists for a day and go on a hunt to discover who used to frequent our waters.
NC Foundations: APL-1, APL-5, HPD-5, LCD-1, LDC-2, CD-2, CD-5, CD-14
