New Alaska Waters website unveiled
Alaska Sea Grant has long provided access to quality online education resources to engage and inspire Alaskan youth to connect with marine and watershed ecosystems. Our updated website, Alaska Waters, features new place-based lessons, activities and a searchable database of resources to support both informal and formal educators.
Alaska Waters is a resource for educators that has evolved over time through Alaska Sea Grant’s education and outreach efforts. It is designed to provide informal and formal Alaskan educators with place-based lessons and activities that engage youth in science related to our oceans, coasts and waterways. Originally created as complete grade-level curriculums to support Alaska Seas and Rivers Week, the site now includes the original curriculums and acts as a searchable database for any and all lessons, activities and teacher resources that connect Alaska’s youth to their watery surroundings.
Formerly known as Alaska Seas and Watersheds, the program traces its roots back to Juneau in 1968, when a local Sea Week initiative encouraged kids to get out of the classroom and into the environment to learn about Alaska’s seas, coasts, rivers and watersheds. It soon expanded statewide, eventually including comprehensive curricula for grades K–8.
Improved site navigation allows searching resources by topic, location, activity type, grade level and technology needs. Educators will find everything from labs to field trips to games, appropriate for various grade levels. Lesson plans include materials lists, handouts and worksheets, and resources are tailored for five broad regions of the state.
Teacher resources include teaching strategies, techniques for community connection, and a searchable database of data, images, videos and articles on current Alaska science topics including environmental adaptation, algal blooms, sea ice and more. Educators can find links to data sources and visualizations of water temperature in lakes, rivers and streams throughout the state; explore interactive sea level data visualizations; delve into an educator course on ocean acidification; and more.
The site is continually evolving. If you are an educator with resources, activities or lesson plans, contact Leigh Lubin, Alaska Sea Grant’s education specialist, to discuss contributing to the Alaska Waters curriculum.
You must be logged in to post a comment.