Resources Library

A downloadable illustrated book, board game, and accompanying lessons to foster enthusiasm for fish and habitat. The book includes a section interviewing inspiring youth stewards who are taking action to protect salmon and salmon habitat.

Five related lessons where students learn about the natural history of British Columbia’s killer whale populations and the threats they face (English & French).

The BMSC Education Team will be providing online virtual field trips (for free) over the next few months. Topics will include marine invertebrates, plankton, fish, a trip on the MV Alta, and more!

A storybook and classroom activities where students work collaboratively to explore and investigate surface currents found in the ocean and the Great Lakes.

Secondary activity and discussion using a measurement tool that allows students to calculate and consider the effects of their personal resource use (English & French).

Grades 4 -11; class discussions, research, and activities to learn about deep sea biodiversity, Canada’s Endeavour Hydrothermal vent site and it’s designation as a Marine Protected Area (English & French).

Explore the world from your home! Sign up for a camera spot for the opportunity to interact with incredible explorers! All live-stream videos are available on YouTube after the broadcast too! For all ages!

Explore the relationship between the ocean and regional climate. This lesson includes data visualizations and handouts.

A closer look at the remarkable creatures and plants that live on the coast of British Columbia, Canada.

Download the app and become a citizen scientist as they track changes in our ocean.

Explore the marine environment of the Salish Sea through 360 degree underwater videos with accompanying lesson plans and activities.

A teacher’s guide for a film exploring climate change from an Inuit perspective.

Bring the ecosystem to your classroom with this Explore the Salish Sea curriculum.

KELP are free, downloadable marine science activities that encourage curiosity in kids and help them explore their surroundings.

Themed weeks with live streams with experts, online games, and at home challenges. Perfect for kids in grade 3 to 6.

A series of fun quick explainer videos about all things ocean science, endorsed as a UN Ocean Decade activity.

The United Nations is launching the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development in 2021. Canadian kids can think up and draw invention ideas to protect the oceans. Get involved now!

In this demonstration, students will build their own hydrothermal vent using two different temperatures of water and items found around classrooms.

Pollution, climate change, habitat loss, and many other factors related to human activity pose a risk to our water systems and the species that live there. This hands-on toolkit, developed by the Canadian Museum of Nature and Ingenium, promotes the importance of aquatic health throughout Canada.

Explore the fascinating natural history of Earth’s poles in NOVA’s Polar Lab. Students use claims, evidence, and reasoning in a discussion of what the evidence about the poles from Earth’s past can tell us about its future.

A collection of educator resources centred around human interaction with oceans.

Ocean Education Wednesday was created in an effort to stimulate an interest in marine biology in the classroom. With the cancellation of ocean-themed activities, such as trips to the Bamfield Marine Science Centre or aquarium visits, students aren’t able to engage with ocean ecosystems in person. Ocean Education Wednesday hopes to provide a way to continue the life-long learning and experiences these sorts of trips have always provided.

Ocean School is a free, bilingual educational resources integrated with Google Classroom and alined with curriculums for grades 6-9.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be born in the depths of the ocean? To build a home, to grow old there, get sick, to go to sleep and dream beneath the waves? This series of short videos explores these topics and more as a UN Ocean Decade endorsed activity.

New compilation of various Ocean Wise resources that can be completed from home consisting of crafts, activities, and live stream events!

Parks Canada administers one of the finest and most extensive systems of natural and cultural heritage places in the world. National historic sites, national parks, and national marine conservation areas provide Canadians and visitors the opportunity to discover, learn about, and connect with Canada’s national treasures.

Les mercredis “Plonger dans l’océan” ont été créés dans le but de stimuler l’intérêt pour la biologie marine en classe. Avec l’annulation des activités et visites sur le thème de l’océan, tels que les visites d’aquariums, les étudiants ne sont pas en mesure de s’impliquer en personne dans les écosystèmes océaniques. Les mercredis “Plonger dans l’océan” espèrent fournir un moyen de poursuivre l’apprentissage et les expériences de vie que ce genre d’activités a toujours fourni.

No matter where you live or how far from the ocean’s shoreline you may be, we all have a connection to and impact on the ocean. This toolkit enables postsecondary students and early career professionals to learn about opportunities and potential career pathways in the ocean sector.

This toolkit has been created to support individuals working in library and community spaces with a user-friendly approach to facilitating learning experiences about the ocean and waterways in Canada.

Lesson plan for an interactive field trip focusing on intertidal zones and salmon habitat.

Check out these resources developed by educational consultant Krystal Pyke as a part of the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project. Learn more about the Salish Sea and salmon!

This resource includes lessons (grade 4-7) on salmon migration and survival in the ocean and estuary, salmon fisheries and watershed studies (English & French).

Database of weather data from schools over Vancouver Island with associated activities and lesson plans.

The aim of this toolkit is to engage learners in ocean education, deepen their awareness of and connection to the ocean, and to inspire action in the classroom community and beyond.

This toolkit was curated by Ocean School and represents a small inventory of fun, innovative, inquiry-based learning experiences that incorporate powerful storytelling techniques, immersive technologies, and interactive media.

An array of engaging and online resources — perfect for parents, teachers, and students. Browse online educational programs by museum name or by type. Explore new spaces through our virtual tours, or visit digital exhibitions through Ingenium’s partnership with Google Arts & Culture.

A teacher resource guide to integrate non-appropriated traditional ecological knowledge into the curriculum.

The Scientist in Residence Program’s mission is to inspire children with extraordinary science. This program is based on the partnerships that develop between teachers and scientists, and their sharing of knowledge and passion for both teaching and science.

This learning module is a cooperative effort between NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NOAA’s National Ocean Service. It informs about sea level rise, its causes, and impacts; and challenges students to think about what they can do in response.

Teaching kit designed to help teachers educate their students about the value of the oceans and marine conservation issues, with a focus on the global fisheries crisis.

This lesson sequence introduces students to the concept of ecosystem monitoring, underwater mountain — seamounts —ecosystems, and the equipment E/V Nautilus uses to aid international scientists in tracking changes in environments.

A comprehensive marine teaching resource that features the marine soundscape, life of marine mammals and more.

What IS a coral? Where do they grow and what do they eat and why are they so pretty? Why are they so many colors? The wonderful Cnidariologist Dr. Shayle Matsuda took time out of his busy schedule to chat about how magical and beautiful coral can be and why reef health is important.

Fish expert and curator of Ichthyology, Dr. Thacker took Alie to a basement full of several million jars of fish to chat about the worst fish husbands, the scariest fish, the nicest fish, how they breathe, how you can help reverse global warming, and whether you should pee in wetsuits.

Who doesn’t love a floppy, slime-filled, hot dog shaped creature of the deep sea? Listen to our conversation with Tim Winegard, a professional hagfishologist at Chapman University, and he dishes on the world’s slimiest treasures.

Are plastic straws really that bad? Why is the sea salty? How do currents work? Do you have to be a marine biologist to help save the ocean? (Spoiler: No!) In a conversation with ocean and policy expert Dr. Ayana Johnson, Alie struggles with finding a balance between the wonders and the bummers.

Dive into the most mysterious waters around the world (if you dare) in this illustrated middle-grade nonfiction book, from TikTok creator and educator Geo Rutherford!

Introduce students to the applications of photomosaics relating to maritime history and archaeology. Students will work in small groups to complete photomosaic puzzles of real seafloor scenes by recognizing and comparing unique features among image squares.

Student/community groups paint yellow fish on road next to storm drains to remind us that all drains lead to salmon habitat (stream to sea); outreach messages and materials included to reduce stormwater pollution.

Education Program that includes resources and curriculum for all grade levels to help students understand, respect and protect local watersheds, from stream to sea (also available in French).

Students examine a coral reef ecosystem to learn about its living and non-living parts and how they interact.

Explore the history of the abalone fishery in B.C. with student presentations and an interactive game (with marshmallows!). English and French.

Students explore how unequal heating of Earth’s surface by the Sun drives global ocean circulation patterns in this media-rich lesson plan from GBH.

A series of lesson plans to foster appreciation of Inuit culture and lifestyles.

Explore connectivity between the marine environment and humans by learning about the impact of sound on harbour porpoise and student empowerment to make a difference (English & French)

Geared to kids in grades 2-4, journey through the Ocean Defender course with virtual lessons!

A video series exploring the story of a humpback whale whose carcass washed up on a British Columbia beach. Follow researchers as they unravel the mysteries of the whale’s life and death as they prepare its bones for display. Warning: These videos show graphic footage of a whale necropsy.

Lesson plan (grade 4-11) about marine nearshores and some of their inhabitants (eelgrass and forage fish); English & French.