In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the shutdown of schools, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant offers this list of educational resources to help parents and teachers with ideas and online programming for learning at home. Check back often. This page will be updated as new material becomes available.
Pre-K – Elementary School
NOAA Live! Videos
These webinars are geared toward grades 2-8 and allow students to connect with scientists. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s New England and Mid-Atlantic Collaboration Network is working with Woods Hole Sea Grant to offer this series on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 11 EDT during school closures. Each webinar features a different NOAA expert/topic and a moderated question and answer session so that you can get a peek at what NOAA scientists do in various NOAA offices. Sample topics include: Marine Mammals, Exploring the Deep Ocean, A Bird’s Eye View of Whales, The Ocean From Space, When Thunder Roars Go Indoors, and more. #NOAALive4Kids
H.O.M.E.S. at Home Webinar Series
Want to keep exploring the fabulous Great Lakes even though you’re hanging around the house? Check out H.O.M.E.S. at Home! The acronym is an easy way to remember our five Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior. While it may be harder to dip our toes in the lakes right now, Michigan Sea Grant and the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network are bringing you lots of ways to enjoy and learn about our freshwater seas right from your own home.
H.O.M.E.School
This is a new series of online lessons about the Great Lakes for kids in grades K-8, brought to you by Alliance for the Great Lakes. The eight online sessions will begin April 6, with a new lesson premiering on our website and Facebook every Monday at 9:30 a.m. CT. If you miss the live lessons, you can find the archived lessons online.
Sounds of the Ocean
NOAA Fisheries has shared an audio collection of sounds made by marine mammals, fish, and technology. Examples include whales, dolphins, seals, fish, and more.
Animal and Ocean-related Webcams
Pick the webcam you want to watch! Sharks, gorillas, hummingbirds and tropical reefs are a just a few examples. Type “live animal cameras” or “live ocean cameras” in your favorite search engine and choose the ones you want to watch.
Shedd Aquarium
The staff at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago has been sharing daily content on its Instagram and Twitter pages while the aquarium is shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch penguins roam the halls of the empty aquarium, listen to chorus frogs, learn about how peacock mantis shrimp can see many more colors than humans, and more.
Indianapolis Zoo
The Indianapolis Zoo has live webcams of their exhibits on penguins, tigers, walruses, macaws, and more.
Cincinnati Zoo
Go on an adventure with Cincinnati Zoo’s Home Safaris series. The zoo is posting a daily safari so everyone can join these fun adventures even while staying isolated.
Center for Great Lakes Literacy
The Center for Great Lakes Literacy (CGLL, pronounced like seagull!) develops and shares educational resources geared toward K-12. Most resources on this website are produced in the form of lesson plans for teachers.
Museums
Many museums offer virtual tours. Google the museum that most interests you and check it out.
Middle School
Skype a Scientist
The “Skype a Scientist” program matches classrooms with scientists for Q&A sessions over video chat. Students can see science labs, research vessels out at sea, live animals, and more. You can plan to watch the scheduled
live sessions or
watch the archives on their YouTube channel.
NOAA Live! Videos
These webinars are geared toward grades 2-8 and allow students to connect with scientists. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s New England and Mid-Atlantic Collaboration Network is working with Woods Hole Sea Grant to offer this series on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 11 EDT during school closures. Each webinar features a different NOAA expert/topic and a moderated question and answer session so that you can get a peek at what NOAA scientists do in various NOAA offices. #NOAALive4Kids
H.O.M.E.S. at Home Webinar Series
Want to keep exploring the fabulous Great Lakes even though you’re hanging around the house? Check out H.O.M.E.S. at Home! The acronym is an easy way to remember our five Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior. While it may be harder to dip our toes in the lakes right now, Michigan Sea Grant and the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network are bringing you lots of ways to enjoy and learn about our freshwater seas right from your own home.
H.O.M.E.School
This is a new series of online lessons about the Great Lakes for kids in grades K-8, brought to you by Alliance for the Great Lakes. The eight online sessions will begin April 6, with a new lesson premiering on our website and Facebook every Monday at 9:30 a.m. CT. If you miss the live lessons, you can find the archived lessons online.
NOAA Ocean Today
Watch a variety of video series about endangered ocean species, hurricanes, shipwrecks like the Titanic, marine debris and how to help keep the environment clean, deep sea dives, and more.
NOAA and the Octonauts
NOAA has teamed up with the Octonauts (who provide ocean games and learning for younger children) to take a deeper dive into the science of ocean exploration and discovery. In the Ocean Explorer series, take tours underwater, learn about the robots used to dive miles below the surface, learn about underwater animals, and more. You can also listen to the NOAA and the Octonauts podcast to learn more about the sea animals that the Octonauts rescue in their shows.
Sounds of the Ocean
NOAA Fisheries has shared an audio collection of sounds made by marine mammals, fish, and technology. Examples include whales, dolphins, seals, fish, and more.
Citizen Science
You can help with science! These crowdsourcing opportunities allow community members to contribute to research and outreach. This can be anything like counting the number of squirrels in your backyard for Project Squirrel, recording the amount and types of litter on your local beach, and more.
Animal and Ocean-related Webcams
Pick the webcam you want to watch! Sharks, gorillas, hummingbirds and tropical reefs are a just a few examples. Type “live animal cameras” or “live ocean cameras” in your favorite search engine and choose the ones you want to watch.
Shedd Aquarium
The staff at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago has been sharing daily content on its Instagram and Twitter pages while the aquarium is shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch penguins roam the halls of the empty aquarium, listen to chorus frogs, learn about how peacock mantis shrimp can see many more colors than humans, and more.
Indianapolis Zoo
The Indianapolis Zoo has live webcams of their exhibits on penguins, tigers, walruses, macaws, and more.
Cincinnati Zoo
Go on an adventure with Cincinnati Zoo’s Home Safaris series. The zoo is posting a daily safari so everyone can join these fun adventures even while staying isolated.
Center for Great Lakes Literacy
The Center for Great Lakes Literacy (CGLL, pronounced like seagull!) develops and shares educational resources geared toward K-12. Most resources on this website are produced in the form of lesson plans for teachers.
Museums
Many museums offer virtual tours. Google the museum that most interests you and check it out.
High School and beyond
NOAA Ocean Today
Watch a variety of
video series about endangered ocean species, hurricanes, shipwrecks like the Titanic, marine debris and how to help keep the environment clean, deep sea dives, and more.
H.O.M.E.S. at Home Webinar Series
Want to keep exploring the fabulous Great Lakes even though you’re hanging around the house? Check out H.O.M.E.S. at Home! The acronym is an easy way to remember our five Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior. While it may be harder to dip our toes in the lakes right now, Michigan Sea Grant and the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network are bringing you lots of ways to enjoy and learn about our freshwater seas right from your own home.
Sounds of the Ocean
NOAA Fisheries has shared an audio collection of sounds made by marine mammals, fish, and technology. Examples include whales, dolphins, seals, fish, and more.
NOAA and the Octonauts
NOAA has teamed up with the Octonauts (who provide ocean games and learning for younger children) to take a deeper dive into the science of ocean exploration and discovery. In the Ocean Explorer series, take tours underwater, learn about the robots used to dive miles below the surface, learn about underwater animals, and more. You can also listen to the NOAA and the Octonauts podcast to learn more about the sea animals that the Octonauts rescue in their shows.
Citizen Science
You can help with science! These crowdsourcing opportunities allow community members to contribute to research and outreach. This can be anything like counting the number of squirrels in your backyard for Project Squirrel, recording the amount and types of litter on your local beach, and more.
Animal and Ocean-related Webcams
Pick the webcam you want to watch! Sharks, gorillas, hummingbirds and tropical reefs are a just a few examples. Type “live animal cameras” or “live ocean cameras” in your favorite search engine and choose the ones you want to watch.
Skype a Scientist
The “Skype a Scientist” program matches classrooms with scientists for Q&A sessions over video chat. Students can see science labs, research vessels out at sea, live animals, and more. You can plan to watch the scheduled live sessions or watch the archives on their YouTube channel.
Shedd Aquarium
The staff at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago has been sharing daily content on its Instagram and Twitter pages while the aquarium is shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch penguins roam the halls of the empty aquarium, listen to chorus frogs, learn about how peacock mantis shrimp can see many more colors than humans, and more.
Wisconsin Water Library
Water on the Web offers reliable sources to start your exploration of water-related topics. If you need ideas for a research paper or a reliable source of water information, take some time to browse these recommendations.
Indianapolis Zoo
The Indianapolis Zoo has live webcams of their exhibits on penguins, tigers, walruses, macaws, and more.
Cincinnati Zoo
Go on an adventure with Cincinnati Zoo’s Home Safaris series. The zoo is posting a daily safari so everyone can join these fun adventures even while staying isolated.
Center for Great Lakes Literacy
The Center for Great Lakes Literacy (CGLL, pronounced like seagull!) develops and shares educational resources geared toward K-12. Most resources on this website are produced in the form of lesson plans for teachers.
Museums
Many museums offer virtual tours. Google the museum that most interests you and check it out.
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