This material was created to complement the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life exhibit of the Museum of Natural History. A selection of links provides access to dioramas of various animals and ocean habitats. Links to ecosystems provides information and illustrations of a variety of ocean ecosystems. A section on ocean life provides an overview of a selection of marine organisms from modern and ancient oceans. ... Full description.

In this activity students investigate a disruption in the ecosystem and the food chain of the ocean. They will use online resources highlight the problems and possible solutions. Teams of students will use a word processor for creating their reports. Visuals and/or charts should accompany the report and Excel or other similar programs can be used for creating whatever flow charts, graphs, and such ... Full description.

This radio broadcast takes listeners to the wintering grounds of the humpback whale off the island of Maui, Hawaii, as researchers record the humpback's mysterious song. A scientist explains that the songs' meanings are not yet known, nor is it known how the creatures are able to produce them. The broadcast is 8 minutes and 48 seconds in length. Full description.

While engaged in this activity students will explore phytoplankton, the food of tiny marine animals, particularly krill. Students will prepare a hay infusion in two identical glass aquarium tanks or a 1-liter glass jar and expose one to 24 hours of continuous light, and the other for only four hours during the school day, with all light blocked off by opaque material during the remaining hours. They ... Full description.

In this activity students will simulate aspects of the Antarctic ice ecosystem, and see how simple life forms respond, thus modeling links between environmental factors and biological responses. Students should recognize the parallels between their work and that done by the Palmer Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) team. Students will conduct a controlled experiment with brine shrimp eggs in order ... Full description.

Scientists around the Arctic plan to survey and catalog the marine species that live within the remote and largely unexplored Arctic Ocean. This radio broadcast from 2003 reports on what areas scientists plan to focus on, such as the ocean beneath the Arctic ice pack and life on the ocean floor, as well as hydrothermal vents, methane seeps, volcanoes and even entire mountain ranges that have never ... Full description.

The National Sea Grant Library (NSGL) is the digital library and official archive for NOAA Sea Grant documents. It is the only comprehensive collection of Sea Grant –funded documents from over 30 programs and projects across the country. This collection encompasses a wide variety of subjects, including oceanography, marine education, aquaculture, fisheries, aquatic nuisance species, coastal hazards, ... Full description.

This site serves as a gateway to three sections devoted to learning about tides and water levels: an online tutorial, an list of links to tidal resources, and formal lesson plans. The tutorial is an overview of the complex systems that govern the movement of tides and water levels. It is content rich, is presented in easy-to-understand language, and includes many illustrative and interactive graphics ... Full description.

The New Millenium Observatory is a seafloor observatory off the coast of Oregon, which studies the relationships between submarine volcanic events and the chemistry and distribution of hydrothermal vents and the biologic communities that depend on them. This website is a multimedia presentation of the ongoing research at Axial volcano. The NeMO Explorer page offers several virtual tours, which allow ... Full description.

This NOAA program supports effective management and sound science to preserve, sustain and restore valuable coral reef ecosystems. Students can read about the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, learn more about local and national coral reef action strategies, and find links to more information on coral reefs. The site also offers a search for publications and data and a general search of the site. Full description.