In contrast with its largely lifeless interior, the Antarctic coastal marine environment supports a vibrant and diverse ecosystem. Explore the region's living bounty in this interactive activity adapted from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

This laboratory exercise can be used to examine the anatomical, physiological, behavioral, and ecological components involved in reproduction in animals using a simple animal model.

This OLogy activity shows kids that there are simple, but very helpful things they can do to protect the ocean -- even if they live nowhere near the water. The activity opens by introducing kids to Gabby, a future marine biologist who wants to study dolphins. Then it has a checklist of 14 ways kids can be ocean helpers that includes asking for tap water instead of bottled water and leaving plants and animals where they find them.

Ocean Explorer Expedition Education Modules (EEM) are designed to reach out in new ways to teachers, students, and the general public, and share the excitement of daily at-sea discoveries and the science behind NOAA's major ocean exploration initiatives with the people around the world. The Bioluminescence 2009: Living Light on the Deep Sea Floor Expedition offers a unique opportunity to engage explorers of all ages as we continue our journeys to parts of our ocean planet that few have seen - the bioluminescent benthic environments of the deep ocean.

This expedition Web site chronicles the adventures of scientists, engineers, and educators as they collect a black smoker sulfide chimney from the ocean floor.

Information on the blue whale.

This interactive activity, adapted from material provided by the ECHO partners, explores the history of whaling in the Arctic and introduces a landmark study of whale populations.

These asynchronous workshops focus on environmental topics related to the Great Lakes region. Subjects covered include: The solid earth system; The bedrock and formation of the Great Lakes; Life and Rocks: Current geological processes; Human impacts [vice-versa!]; and Ocean/lake deep exploration (sink holes, underwater archeology, NOAA's exploration book) studying the bottom, characteristics of the water at depth.

This collection of lesson plans, created by the Bermuda Biological Station for Research, highlights color change in cephalopods. This page provides links to each lesson plan, which are in PDF format and feature an informative, image-rich introduction followed by a hands-on laboratory activity. The lesson plans highlight cephalopod color change, vision, light quality, and light quantity.

This video segment from Nature shows the destructiveness of the shark fin and shark cartilage industries.

This resource is a detailed manual of protocols and instructional information for carrying out an undergraduate laboratory exercise in invertebrate marine biology and physiology, including detailed student outlines and background information,

In this hands-on OLogy activity, kids learn how camouflage allows flounders to blend into a variety of backgrounds. The activity begins with a kid-friendly look at animal camouflage and how chromatophores contain colors, or pigments, that can change the skin's appearance. The illustrated, step-by-step directions challenge kids first to color a flounder drawing so that it matches the provided background, and then to create their own backgrounds and make more drawings of camouflaged flounders.

In this hands-on OLogy activity, kids learn about coral reefs by building a diorama that has models of different types of coral and other sea creatures. The activity opens with Amy O'Donnell, an educator at the AMNH, introducing kids to coral polyps and reefs. The illustrated, step-by-step directions show kids how to construct a diorama that contains models of a brain coral, a sea fan, a sponge, and sea anemones. It also includes Cool Coral Facts, a look at museum dioramas, and tips for "Taking Your Diorama to the Next Level."

This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Health Studies page focuses on cyanobacteria, single-celled organisms thought to be the origin of plants. Cyanobacteria live in fresh, brackish, or marine water and are of concern to the CDC and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because some can form harmful blooms that deplete the oxygen and block sunlight that other organisms need to live. They can also produce powerful toxins that affect the brain and liver of animals and humans. This website links to an informational page about cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (including impact to public health), general information, CDC activities, links to relevant websites, publications, and additional CDC topics.

This online gallery of photos, illustrations, and videos provides a snapshot of deep sea vents and the ancient forms of life that can be found within them. Transcripts of the videos are provided, and the photos and illustrations are accompanied by explanatory texts.

This University of Delaware interactive web page combines text, images, video, and audio clips to describe the Pompeii worm (Alvinella pompejana), the most heat tolerant animal on Earth. Features of this site include: a 3-D visual which allows users to manipulate and view the organism from all angles, a video that shows the worm feeding on bacteria in its habitat, and audio clips that enhance images of the worm and its hydrothermal vent community.

Corals in the deep sea? When asked to describe corals, most people think of those that make up tropical, shallow-water reefs like the Great Barrier Reef. See what scientist discovered in the North Atlantic waters deeper than 1000 meters.

Marine Animals is one of the AMNH Education Department's many collections of specimens and artifacts gathered the world over by explorers and scientists. In its online Discovery Collection form, Marine Animals includes an educator's Guide with suggestions for how to use the Marine Animals Discovery Collection in the classroom.

Oyster Shells is one of the AMNH Education Department's many collections of specimens and artifacts gathered the world over by explorers and scientists. In its online Discovery Collection form, Oyster Shells includes components such as: The Collection -- photographs of 15 specimens with classification and distribution details and an educator's Guide-- with suggestions for how to use the Oyster Shells Discovery Collection in the classroom.