Oregon Sea Grant

The exciting world of sea lion research that forms the basis of this curriculum provides an ideal framework for students to learn more about the principles of marine science and engineering and how they work together to create tools that scientists use. Through a variety of hand-on activities, this curriculum explores physical science concepts in the context of the Life History Transmitter Project. This curriculum uses science-as-inquiry methods and engineering design projects to teach students about telemetry or remote sensing (technology), the biology and ecology of sea lions and the Alaska ecosystem, the challenges of marine research in a remote environment, and how engineers develop solutions to science problems. Also covered are the connections between populations, resources, and environments; the risks and benefits of technology; and technology and society.

This curriculum is intended for teachers of grades 6-8 and 9-12 seeking to incorporate science, technology, and engineering into their classroom. Because this curriculum is based on an integrated research project, teachers can use this sequentially as an entire science and technology unit or select from individual activities and materials. Each activity can be used as a stand-alone lesson and is designed in 50-minute intervals suitable for classroom use. Correlation of the curriculum content to National Science Education Standards and Ocean Literacy Principles is included with each activity.