Whether it’s scientific equipment or educational kits, these ready-to-use materials are available for classroom or event use, providing hands-on opportunities for teachers and students.

To borrow any of the following kits use request button below. An education team representative will contact you to schedule the loan. Please allow seven days to process your request. These materials are free to borrow, but the borrower is responsible for ensuring that all parts are returned, complete and undamaged.

Request Loanable Kit

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Aquatic Invaders Attack Pack

The Aquatic Invaders Attack Pack is a backpack filled with resources that help students and others learn about aquatic invasive species (AIS) found in the Great Lakes. For example, children can learn about problems caused by AIS and what can be done about them. Each pack includes preserved specimens of some of the most problematic AIS in the Great Lakes, rugged plastic fact sheets, a classroom guide, and other materials.

 

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Enviroscape

This model provides a hands-on demonstration of how stormwater runoff can carry pollutants through the watershed. Your students can learn about point- and nonpoint-source water pollution and explore the best management practices, like buffer strips, to prevent this type of pollution from impacting waterways.

 

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Fish-o-pedia Pack

The Fish-o-pedia Pack is an education pack filled with resources to help teach students and other groups about Great Lakes fish. Each pack includes vinyl cutouts of 12 native and non-native Great Lakes fish. The pack also contains the Fish-o-Pedia cards filled with facts and figures about each species. Also included is the 4th edition of The Life of the Lakes: a Guide to the Great Lakes Fishery (2019) Brandon C. Schroeder, Dan M. O’Keefe, and Shari L. Dann with Michigan Sea Grant.

 

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The Great Lakes Basin Map

This 7-foot x 10-foot vinyl Great Lakes Basin map illustrates the 2,212-mile journey from the tip of Lake Superior to the Atlantic Ocean. The map includes a depth profile of the lakes and major rivers in the system and shows the direction and volume of flow through each of the lakes.

 

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Know Your H2O

This program provides the opportunity for educators to borrow water monitoring equipment used by commercial aquaculturists. Your students can experience collecting and analyzing real-time water quality data to reinforce concepts introduced in classroom instruction. This is a great way to bring to life the importance of water quality for aquatic animals, plants, and sustainable production systems.

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The Limno Loan Program

This program provides the opportunity for educators to borrow actual water monitoring equipment used by scientists in the field for students to experience collecting and analyzing real water quality data. The Limno Loan program is a great way to bring the topic of water quality to life for your students, bringing the outdoors to your classroom or your classroom outdoors.

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Plastic Panic

You can model the journey that water takes at a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) through a series of hands-on steps around a tabletop model. The kit targets students in 4th−7th grades. Students will learn about the microplastic pollution problem and discover what happens to pollutants as they enter and pass through a WWTP. The tabletop activity is best for small groups of 5−10 learners. In addition to the kit supplies, the model requires a 6-foot table, water jug, bucket for wastewater, and a computer with a USB port.

 

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Trash Tote

This kit is an portable set of educational tools that provide information on the issue of marine debris for people participating in a beach cleanup, outreach event, or to supplement a formal lesson plan.  Examples of commonly found marine debris items and microplastics are included so people can see these items up close. Large infographic cards about Great Lakes specific marine debris facts and figures are also included in the kit. These items can be passed around or placed on a table. The microplastics can also be placed under the included handheld microscope for better viewing.

 

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Trash Trunk

The Trash Trunk contains an educator’s guide with 14 lessons and activities reprinted from a variety of sources, informational display cards, and supporting materials. The activities are presented in three sections that address the origins of marine debris, its impacts, and what can be done. Educators may select a single lesson or develop a unit using Trash Trunk content, supplemental materials, and common classroom supplies.

 

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The Watershed Game

This game is an interactive, educational tool that helps students and others understand the connection between land use and water quality. The classroom version is designed for middle school students (grades 6–8), but can easily be extended to upper elementary and high school students. Participants in The Watershed Game learn about practices, plans, and policies that improve and protect the quality of a stream, lake, river, or coastal region. The activities emphasize collaboration and cooperative decision-making, persuasive argument, teamwork, and leadership skills, along with science and math. The game requires 1−2 class periods and is supported by online resources available to educators using the game.