AdVENTurous Findings on the Deep Sea Floor

Students examine bioluminescence and camouflage of deep sea creatures. In this deep sea creatures lesson, students investigate the visible and near-visible light spectrum. They work in small groups to complete a light, color, and...

A tube worm's outer covering is made of chitin, the same material that makes up the shells of lobsters and crabs. Scholars create tube worms and analyze and discuss the longevity of organisms living near cold seeps. They then discuss and...

Young scientists access the EARTH Web site in order to engage in this lesson life forms found in the ocean. Student groups of 3 - 4 choose one set of deep-sea organism images. The groups decide how they would classify their organisms and...

Students study the vent and non vent deep sea and see the differences in habitats.  For this investigative lesson students complete a worksheet and work in groups.

Marine invertebrates offer us many new options for developing pharmaceutical drugs, such as w-conotoxin MVIIA, which is extracted from the cone snail and is a potent painkiller. The lesson encourages scholars to research various types of...

The pressure at the bottom of the ocean is 10,000 times that at sea level. Scholars go under the sea as they learn about organisms found in the deep ocean waters. From angler fish to deep sea jellies that bioluminescence, viewers see...

Much like a distant planet, the underwater world of deep-sea benthos is strange and largely unknown. How do creatures survive and thrive in such extreme pressure and temperature conditions? Young oceanographers join the crew of Operation...

With so much ocean floor to explore, how do scientists find hydrothermal vents and other landforms? A simulation encourages scholars to measure temperatures at 200 meters above the sea floor, select areas to drop temperature probes, and...

Get deep with your elementary ecologists by introducing them to an extreme environment, the abyss. With a short video clip, a game that matches description cards to high-quality images projected on a screen, and a class discussion,...

Welcome to the deep sea, off the coast of Pakistan! Follow the biologists as they observe the ocean floor and take samples with the help of underwater robotics. Especially interesting is the abundance of methane hydrate which, when lit...