Outreach opportunities with the creation of our traveling trunk

DSC04180I recently developed a “Predators of the Sea” traveling trunk for the North Carolina Maritime Museum along with my labmates, Kristina Cammen and Amanda Kaltenberg. The traveling trunk was created for 4th-6th grade students to learn about marine predators. We wrote lessons that focus on the differences between marine predators (e.g., sharks and dolphins), the differences between individuals within a population of marine predators, and why certain predators choose specific habitats. The trunk includes a variety of activities, including measuring a life-sized bull shark image, matching dolphin dorsal fins, and studying prey habitat maps. We successfully debuted the trunk with two of Mrs. Eura Lawrence’s 6th grade classes at Beaufort Middle School on April 23rd. The trunk was also displayed at the Scientific Research and Education Networking event at the Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium on April 25th. Teachers can check the trunk out of the North Carolina Maritime Museum to use in their class for a two-week period. The trunk was created with support from the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence, the Duke University Marine Laboratory, and the North Carolina Maritime Museum.

beaufortMS-04150Teaching 6th graders how to measure a bull shark “in the field.”

sciren-2627Replicas of shark and marine mammal teeth (thank you, Keith Rittmaster!).

sciren-2578Sharing our trunk with educators at the Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium.

One response to “Outreach opportunities with the creation of our traveling trunk

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *