K-12 Curriculum

Balloons on the Beach

How can we prevent balloons from ending up in the environment?
Students learn about balloons that become marine debris, and then identify solutions that would prevent these objects from ending up on the beach. (Gr 4-12)

Beach Boxes - marine debris

Bring the beach into the classroom.
Instructions for creating table top boxes full of marine debris and natural materials found on a beach. (all ages)

ORSEA: Belugas Out of Balance

Are there enough individuals of reproductive age in the Cook Inlet beluga whale population to promote recovery without human intervention?
Students explore factors that impact beluga whale populations declines, and examine epigenetic data to determine whether the species might recover. (Gr 10-12)

ORSEA: Coastal Hypoxia

How do environmental and ecological factors affect ocean deoxygenation off the Oregon Coast?
Students explore the causes and effects of hypoxia in the coastal ocean through a case study based on real-world events. (Gr 6-7)

ORSEA: Cold Summer Water

How does coastal upwelling impact ocean temperature and productivity?
Students learn the causes and effects of upwelling and apply this knowledge in other applications. (Gr 9-12)

ORSEA: Copepod Conundrum

How are trends in plankton diversity and biomass used to indicate ocean conditions?
Students explore relationships between copepod biomass and biodiversity and identify which conditions are favorable for salmon survival. (Gr 9-12)

ORSEA: Coral Bleaching

Do Aiptasia with symbiotic algae grow better than those without symbiotic algae?
Students explore how scientists use sea anemones as a model organism to understand coral bleaching. (Gr 9-12)
 

ORSEA: Cuckoo for Copepods

How can we use copepods as a model to learn about how marine organisms tolerate extreme hypoxia?
Students explore how scientists use intertidal plantkon as a model organism to understand adaptations to hypoxic stress. (Gr 9-12)

ORSEA: Declining Seagrass Abundance

Why has seagrass abundance declined in some Oregon estuaries?
In this lesson, students will explore the observed phenomenon of seagrass declines and determine potential factors which may be related. (Gr 9-12)

ORSEA: Fishes Full of Fibers

Do my choices in clothing affect fish in the deep sea?
Students learn about the sources, transport, and fate of microfibers that end up in the bodies of deep sea lanternfish. (Gr 6)

ORSEA: Forams as Storytellers

What can tiny plankton tell us about past and present ocean climate?
Students learn about marine heatwaves and how the distribution of foraminifera species in the fossil record and in deep sea sediment cores helps researchers understand changes in ocean climate. (Gr 9-12)

ORSEA: Hybrid Beachgrass Discovery

How does a newly-discovered beachgrass hybrid affect coastal ecosytems?
Students investigate how the hybrid species differs from its parents, and how the grass may impact the ecosystem. (Gr 9-12)

ORSEA: Impacts of Offshore Wind Energy Sites

Where should we put the wind turbines?
Students consider the impacts of offshore wind energy in Oregon within the context of coastal economics and fisheries management. (Gr 9-12)

ORSEA: Invasion of the Crabs

Are green crabs invading Oregon estuaries and causing harmful impacts?
Students explore the presence and impacts of non-native green crabs in Oregon estuaries. (Gr 9-11)

ORSEA: Kelp Forest Complexity

What factors affect biodiversity and community structure in West Coast kelp forests?
Student learn about how food webs, competition for resources, and environmental factors shape communities, especially in kelp forests. (Gr 9-12)

ORSEA: Killer Whale Population in Decline

How is the decreasing population of Southern Resident killer whales connected to prey selection and availability?
Students explore how the selective feeding practices of Southern Resident killer whales contribute to their declining numbers. (Gr 9-12)

ORSEA: Krill Prefer Chill

How are the inhabitants of a polar ecosystem affected by rising global temperatures caused by climate change?
Students learn about the critical role that krill play in Antarctic ecosystems, and how krill populations have changed over time. (Gr. 6-7)

ORSEA: Managing Whales at Risk

How does population genetics inform marine policy and management?
Students learn how whale populations are defined, and how how knowing the status of the population to which an impacted whale belongs can inform how managers respond to threats. (Gr 9-12)

ORSEA: Marine Reserve Impacts

Why have Marine Reserves been established in Oregon?
Students learn about the goals that have been set for Oregon’s Marine Reserves, and how scientific data is being collected to help determine whether the goals are being met. (Gr 6-8)

 

ORSEA: Marsh Magic

How has human agriculture had an effect on coastal wetlands? What are the differences between undisturbed, restored, and impacted wetlands?

Students compare three wetland sites by exploring data in an online format. (Gr 7-12)

 

ORSEA: Muddy Waters

What factors drive differences between an urban estuary and a protected estuary reserve?
Students explore how and why water quality varies in two coastal estuaries. (Gr. 6-8)

ORSEA: Oyster Larvae Catastrophe

What caused the oyster larvae die off, and what can we do?
Students explore the cause, impacts, and potential solutions for ocean acidification by investigating the phenomenon of an observed oyster larvae die-off. (Gr 6-8)

ORSEA: Patchy Plankton

What factors contribute to spatial variability in plankton abundance?
Students use plankton abundance data collected off Oregon and California to learn about ecological sampling and interpretation. (Gr. 7-8)

ORSEA: Population Fluctuations in Salmon

Why can’t all salmon be managed in the same fashion?
Students learn how the life cycles and population histories of different salmon species affect how they respond to ecosystem disturbances. (Gr. 9-10)

ORSEA: Prodigious Plastic Pollution

By identifying plastics in our daily lives and tracing their pathways to beaches and coastal waters, can we minimize the volume of these harmful pollutants?
Students learn about plastic marine debris to find out where it comes from, its impacts on wildlife and humans, and how student actions can address the problem. (Gr 6-8)

 

ORSEA: Sea Lion Feeding Frenzy

What does sea lion feeding have to do with human health?
Students learn about the “one health paradigm” by exploring the connection between contaminants, fish, sea lions, and people. (Gr 6-12)

 

ORSEA: Seafloor Graveyard

What is causing episodes of dead animals on the seafloor?
Students will investigate the cause of hypoxia events, how they are measured, and their connection to climate change. (Gr 9-10)

ORSEA: Swimming on an Empty Shark Tank

What can cause white shark activity levels to vary between individuals within the species?
Students examine data collected from tags attached to swimming white sharks and explore how energy expenditure varies among different shark populations. (Gr 7-10)

ORSEA: Teeming with Fish

How many rockfish can we catch and still have a sustainable fishery?
Students look at data and video footage collected in nearshore rocky habitats off the Oregon Coast, and investigate how such data could be used to inform fishery management decisions. (Gr 6-8)

ORSEA: Tidepool Tussle

How do sea stars affect rocky intertidal ecosystems?
Students explore data from tidepools and learn about the importance of predators in coastal ecosystems. (Gr 6-8)

ORSEA: Tides, Waves, and Floods

What causes changes in sea level over short and long periods of time?
Students explore the causes of variability in sea level and learn how scientists measure sea level. (Gr 9-12)

Plastic Wads on the Beach

How can we prevent the escape of plastic wads into the environment?
Students learn about plastic wad marine debris, and then identify solutions that would prevent these objects from ending up on the beach. (Gr 4-12)

Tsunami Quests

Tsunami Quests are located in Clatsop, Lincoln, and Coos Counties
Engaging self-guided walks in which participants have a positive outdoor experience learning about earthquake and tsunami safety at the coast. (all ages)

Upcycling

Turn plastic bags into high quality materials.
Guidance for upcycling discarded plastic bags into sturdy, useful, attractive items of higher value that can continue to be used. (Gr 4-12)

Yellow Rope on the Beach

How can we prevent the escape of yellow rope into the environment?
Students learn about yellow rope marine debris, and then identify solutions that would prevent these fragments from ending up on the beach. (Gr 4-12)