Hands-On Activities & Lesson Plans

Want to learn more about the ocean? Check out our favorite activities that you can do from home or in the classroom!

**Keep checking this page as we will be adding more activities in the coming days!**

Weekly Themes

  • Marine Debris: Learn about the effect marine debris has on the marine environment and what you can do to help.
  • Endangered Species: Learn about endangered animals and how animals become endangered.
  • Plastic Pollution: Learn about single-use plastics, plastic pollution, and how you can reduce single-use plastic in your everyday life.
  • Algal Blooms: Learn about what algae is and how it can become harmful.
  • Tide Pools: Learn about what tide pools are, the different animals that live there, and the adaptations these have to survive 

Activities for Home Schoolers, Distance Learners, After School, etc.

  • Right Whale Activities: Check out right whale activities from our Year of the Right Whale project.
  • Microplastics Lab: Bring the excitement of our microplastics lab home with this hands-on and engaging activity. Click here to watch a demo!
  • Make Your Own Whale Tail: Design your own whale tail, and name it based on criteria that scientists use to name whales.
  • Passport at Home: Research different animals found in the Gulf of Maine, as you learn about each animal add a check mark by their name to “sight” them virtually.
  • Virtual Whale Watch: Click on each marine mammal to learn more about them, then test your knowledge once you’re done with a fun quiz!
  • Beach Scavenger Hunt: Head out to the beach and see how many items on this scavenger hunt you can find!
  • Tide Pool Word Search: Can you find all of the different tidepool creature names hiding out in this fun word search?

Activities Designed for Classroom Use