Saturday, March 14th, 2020
9 AM - 3:30 PM
The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher presents Sea Turtle Exploration: a curriculum to help educators engage students in the fundamentals of STEAM through ready-to-use, standards based lesson plans and sea turtles. Join us on Saturday, March 14th, 2020 for a hands-on teacher workshop guiding you through our new curriculum and website. 

 Aligned with the new Common Core standards, your class will be able to “adopt” a turtle and learn about its care and growth. By adopting our sea turtle you will receive weekly updates with information including the turtle’s current weight and length. Each class will also receive a certificate of participation.

By the end of the workshop, you will be familiar with the website and curriculum and how to implement the lessons in your own classroom. The workshop will include a behind the scenes tour to meet one of our sea turtles. Please bring a reusable water bottle and you may choose to also pack a waste-free lunch.  Our snack shop, Shark Bites will be opened and there are lunch options off-site. This workshop will count towards NC Environmental Education Certification (Criteria I) and consists of 6 contact hours that may count toward CEUs for teachers.

Help keep our seas plastic-free! Please bring a reusable water container, a refillable coffee cup, and a waste-free lunch!

The cost of this teacher workshop is $25. This fee includes a Behind the Scenes Tour and access to curriculum.  The Oak Island Beach Preservation Society will pay the registration fee for any formal or informal Brunswick County Educators.

For additional workshop information, call 910-772-0546. For assistance with registration, call 910-772-0542.

Saturday, May 30th, 2020
9 AM - 3 PM

Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon are two sturgeon species that can be found in coastal waters, estuaries, and major rivers along the East Coast of the United States. Because of overfishing for sturgeon eggs which were processed into caviar, shortnose  and Atlantic sturgeon have been listed throughout their range under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). 

The SCUTES (Students Collaborating to Undertake Tracking Efforts for Sturgeon) program is the collaboration between NOAA Fisheries (NMFS), sturgeon researchers, teachers, and informal educators to bring more awareness about sturgeon and the ESA to the classroom. NMFS has worked with educators to develop lesson plans and activities relating to sturgeon. These lesson plans meet the National Education Standards, and cover a variety of subjects including Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Math. Teachers are invited to borrow SCUTES kits from NMFS and SCUTES partners that contain lesson plans and activity supplies. NMFS staff are also available for school visits to showcase the kits as well as sturgeon specimens. 

The goal of this workshop is to introduce educators to SCUTES lesson plans relating to the ESA and sturgeon. These lessons can be used in Language Arts, Social Studies, Math and Science middle school and high school classrooms, but may be adapted for younger ages. Educators will work through lesson plans in groups, participate in the activities, and are welcome to provide any constructive feedback. 

Videos of students participating in the SCUTES elementary level activities (Food Web, Natal Homing, and Fossils) will also be shown. As time allows, teachers are welcome to participate in these activities as well. 

Cost: $10.00 registration fee - refunded when participant shows up to workshop