From the recently launched SmithsonianEducation.org Web site comes an excellent set of learning resources based on Exploring Marine Ecosystems, a permanent exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The activities and lesson plans in Contrasts in Blue help students explore two distinctively different marine ecosystems: the Caribbean coral reef and the rocky coast of Maine....

This extensive educational resource from MacGillivray Freeman Films is aimed at assisting educators of grades 4-8 who are interested in teaching about the scientific and social aspects of reefs. Funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Wildlife Federation, among others, the film and the Teacher's Guide are not only very valuable, they are also linked to national science education...

Created as a section of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Educational Resources page, Oceans and Coasts provides an annotated listing of NOAA's educational resources related to all aspects of marine life and ecology. The page lists approximately a dozen sites primarily aimed at the elementary and secondary school levels. Each site takes a slightly different focus,...

This summer, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sent the submersible Alvin down to explore the biology, physics, and chemistry of seafloor methane seeps off the coast of the southeastern U.S. Now educators can bring the Windows to the Deep expedition to the classroom with a set of lesson plans available at this Web site. Designed for grades 5-12, these "hands-on, inquiry-based...