Marine Science Activities for Tweens and Teens - Sailors for the Sea

Marine Science Activities for Tweens and Teens

 February 17, 2023  | By: Jennifer Brett

Have some tweens or teens in your life that love the ocean? Our Kids Environmental Lesson Plans (KELP) include activities for all ages! Here are four lesson plans perfect for the middle- and high-school years that teach ocean literacy principles through exploration of marine habitats and animals. Find these activities along with our entire KELP library of 50+ free lesson plans on our website.

Density Currents

Cold deep ocean water is often much higher in essential mineral nutrients than surface waters because as organisms die, they sink and take their minerals with them to the bottom where the minerals are released by decomposers. Where ocean currents, climate and geography force deep water to the surface, primary production increases dramatically with the introduction of higher levels of mineral nutrients. This production supports entire food chains!

In this activity, kids will learn about thermohaline circulation (Global Ocean Conveyor Circulation) throughout the world’s oceans and the relative density differences between cold and warm ocean water.

The Dirty Water Challenge

This is a fun activity that teaches students about their environment in an engaging, practical way. Kids can design, plan and then build their own water filter design. Through this activity, they are exposed to important concepts from a variety of scientific disciplines, including how the water cycle works, and the principles behind water filtering.

Cloudy With a Chance of Sediment

Turbidity is essentially the amount of “stuff” in the water (that stuff is more properly called the total suspended solids -TSS). These are particles that are not dense enough to have settled on the floor of the body of water. A Secchi Disk measures the turbidity of the water by dropping a weighted black and white disk into the water and measuring how deep it goes before “disappearing.” In this activity, kids will learn how to make and use a Secchi Disk, while collecting and recording data.

Clam Jigsaw

Have you ever thought about the inner workings of clams or oysters? In this activity, kids will create a cutout model of a clam to investigate the anatomy, physiology and importance of these animals.

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