Classroom Programs

Students learn about coastal wildlife during an OASLC program in the Kokhanok, Alaska.

NPS/Jim Pfeiffenberger

Working closely with internal and external partners, the OASLC helps bring research and natural resource issues into classrooms throughout Alaska. Programs have included hands-on investigations of archeological artifacts, policy-making exercises relating to management of declining wildlife species, and a general introduction to marine mammal adaptations for younger students. To inquire about program availability for your classroom, please email Fiona North, the OASLC education coordinator.

Teammates "high-five" each other during Ocean Sciences Bowl competition.

Photo by Pennington Photography

National Ocean Sciences Bowl

The OASLC is an annual sponsor of the Alaska Tsunami Bowl regional competition of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl. The OASLC has helped coordinate National Park Service volunteers at the competition and sponsored the art show associated with the event. The OASLC has sponsored awards consisting of books, lab equipment, and other educational materials aimed at improving ocean science education in the classroom.

Katmai National Park and Preserve staff in the classroom.

NPS

Village Outreach

For the past decade, the OASLC has worked in partnership with coastal national parks and the Alaska SeaLife Center to bring marine science education to remote classrooms around Alaska. The focus has been on villages that are near or somehow associated with Alaska's coastal national parks, but villages throughout the state have been included over the years. The Alaska SeaLife Center brings hands-on programs that in many cases simulate what scientists do in order to investigate subjects such as declining sea lion populations or stream water quality. The NPS brings programs that emphasize the importance of understanding and conserving natural resources. Program offerings also include information on marine and conservation-related careers.

High school students from Nondalton identify several species of intertidal invertebrates.

Kachemak Bay Research Reserve

Estuary Discovery Labs

Over two hundred K-12 students in the villages of Port Graham, Nanwalek, Nondalton, and Newhalen learned about estuary ecology and research in April 2015. Staff from Lake Clark National Park and Preserve and Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (KBRR) co-developed the discovery lab, funded by the OASLC. Labs included interactive activities about bird, mammal, and intertidal invertebrate biology as well as ongoing research in south central Alaska's estuaries. Students were able to examine live intertidal species including sea urchins, sea stars, and crabs. Animal collections were provided thanks to a KBRR permit.