Ten Ocean Topics to Capture Your Kids!

Lori Roberts is a high school biology teacher in Muscle
Shoals, Alabama. Lori is a leader in ocean education and is a graduate
of National Geographic Education’s two-year professional development
program, the National Teacher Leadership Academy.

Kids can be easily distracted in a classroom environment; therefore, finding ways to motivate and involve them can become a major issue. When I introduce a new concept, I like to use a cool topic to capture the interest of my students. I recently asked each of my students to tell me what in the ocean they wanted to know more about.  Then I grouped and compiled their answers into the following list of ten. Hopefully you will find them helpful tools to “hook” students on learning about the ocean!

1.    Dolphins, Sea turtles and Sharks, Oh My!
Students love predators with personality. Dolphins, for example, are so smart that they have been trained by the Navy to “sniff” out mines and perform underwater surveillance. Sea turtles, one of my personal favorites, start out life on the beach in a dramatic fashion–with a precarious “race” to the ocean. Then, after struggling to survive those early days, they are rewarded by a very long life. And sharks, well… anything dangerous is fun to talk about! It is a well-known fact that kids love these big ocean animals.

2.    Bioluminescence
Isn’t it awesome that there are sea creatures that can produce their own light? How do they do it? Which ocean organisms can produce light? And just what is bioluminescence, anyway? To start, show students the TED talk by Dr. Edith Widder, in which she says that, “bioluminescence is the rule and not the exception in the ocean.” This would also be a good online research topic for your students. Give them a list of questions to seek out the answers to online (such as the three above), and then have them report back to their classmates.

3.    Fun Fact or Fantasy?
Giant squid actually exist–and we have proof. But what about sea serpents, sea dragons, and mermaids? Teach students the truth behind these myths, past and present (check out the oarfish–ancient people mistook these creatures for real sea serpents).

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Cramped Quarters

Lori Roberts is a high school biology teacher in Muscle
Shoals, Alabama. Lori is a leader in ocean education and is a graduate
of National Geographic Education’s two-year professional development
program, the National Teacher Leadership Academy.

James Cameron is obviously not claustrophobic. As the pilot and only crewmember of DEEPSEA CHALLENGER, he will be working in a very small space at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

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Cameron is an avid explorer with over 70 submersible dives to his credit. While aboard the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER submersible, Cameron was in a pilot sphere so small that he was not even able to extend his arms. Photograph by Charlie Arneson.

Cameron will sit within a sphere inside the sub. The sphere is formed externally from 6.4cm of steel. The interior compartment is 109cm in diameter and filled with electronic equipment and life support systems. Research proved that a sphere would be the best shape to withstand 16,000 pounds-per-square-inch of pressure. But how will Cameron be able to work comfortably in such cramped quarters?

Help your students to experience what he will feel with this simple lesson.

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Celebrate DEEPSEA CHALLENGE with National Geographic Education!

Filmmaker (Titanic, Avatar, Terminator) and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence James Cameron has become the first person to complete a solo journey to Challenger Deep, the terminus of the Mariana Trench, and the deepest known point on planet Earth at nearly 7 miles below sea level.

Although it’s more like 2 leagues than 20,000, the DEEPSEA CHALLENGE mission has the potential to bring mysteries of deep-ocean worlds to light for scientists, students, and dreamers alike. This incredible moment in the history of modern exploration is being reported by major news organizations around the world today (see stories on the New York Times and CNN), and the National Geographic Education team could not be more excited to share in the fervor.

As the educational outreach arm of the National Geographic Society, the organization sponsoring DEEPSEA CHALLENGE along with Rolex, we have developed a complete suite of materials to help teachers bring this scientific expedition to conduct deep-ocean research into their classrooms.  Here is a quick overview of the Nat Geo Education materials available.

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The main DEEPSEA CHALLENGE education hub features maps, multimedia, reference materials, and more.  Below is a list of five favorite resources:

Learn about important milestones in underwater exploration, including the sinking of the Titanic and the inventions of Jacques Cousteau, through photos, illustrations, and maps.

  • Marine Ecosystem Illustrations

Explore the flora and fauna of ocean environments–from coral reefs to the deep sea–with these collections of beautifully detailed illustrations for grades 3-5 and 9-12.

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Success at 27,000″: What About 36,000″?

Lori Roberts is a high school biology teacher in Muscle
Shoals, Alabama. Lori is a leader in ocean education and is a graduate
of National Geographic Education’s two-year professional development
program, the National Teacher Leadership Academy.


How does it feel to be alone in the dark and 27,000″ feet under seawater? James Cameron said, “…it’s simultaneously scary and exhilarating” after his final dive to the New Britain Trench. I wondered at this feat of engineering that allowed for a successful dive. He must have felt a surge of relief fill him when he heard the weights fall off.

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The submersible DEEPSEA CHALLENGER is deployed into the water for a test.

Electromagnets hold the weights in place on the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER,
James Cameron’s sub. The weights assist the sub in its descent to the
bottom. When Cameron is ready to ascend and resurface, the power on the
electromagnets is turned off, and the metal weights fall off. What about
residual magnetism after the power is turned off–has this been
considered? How does it work? What if the electromagnets don’t fall off?

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