Elementary School: Being Nemo

See the world from the perspective of an ocean animal

Marine biology will come alive as aspiring oceanographers view the world from the perspective of sea creatures great and small and discover how these animals survive in their varied habitats. Students will take on the role of a series of ocean dwellers: a clownfish exploring a coral reef, a leopard shark in shallow waters, a sea star in a tide pool, a gray whale migrating the Pacific and a sea otter in a kelp forest. Class members will experience what these animals see and hear and explore how easy (or difficult) it is for them to live and thrive. To highlight what they have learned, students will create stop-motion videos to share on the last day of class. Being Nemo offers a great way to spark students’ interest in learning more about marine biology.

What You Will Learn

Students in Elementary School: Being Nemo will:

• Get a broad overview of the fish and other animals that live in our oceans, rivers and streams.
• Trace the activity of leopard sharks in shallow waters off San Diego
• Learn about coral and investigate the life of a clownfish on a coral reef
• Learn about the fluctuations of tide pools and follow the activities of a sea star through changing tides
• Gain an understanding of migration and follow a gray whale covering huge distances in the open ocean
• Look at kelp forest ecosystems through the eyes of the sea otters that depend on them