SeaTrek Presentations
These 45-60 minute sessions include PowerPoint presentations and student activities and are presented at your location. The cost is $40 for the first session of a particular program and $20 for each additional session of the same program on the same day.
Please make your reservation one month in advance.
| Program | Program Summary | Audience | |
| Grades | Adult | ||
Aquaculture |
Both fresh and salt water aquaculture are explored through a series of images portraying scenes such as young flounder being sorted at Great Bay Aquaculture, cultured pearls being extracted from oysters and food being prepared from queen conch. The centuries old history of aquaculture is discussed, along with the potential problems and benefits of farming marine species. Audience members are encouraged to think about the balance between the worldwide need for protein that aquaculture provides and the environmental concerns that accompany the process of raising fish for the market. The University of New Hampshire's intriguing Open Ocean Aquaculture project is also detailed from conception to current research results. |
6-12 | Yes |
Global Climate Change |
Global warming and climate change have become part of everyday dialog. This program examines the scientific issue through simple charts and graphs, illustrating that the phenomena is not a natural fluctuation in the Earth's climate. Bringing the issue close to home, participants learn why melting ice caps could bring about a freeze in Europe, eliminating our maple syrup and lobster industries in New England. Participants are invited to discuss man's role in global warming and the impact climate change could have on way of life, while discovering how they themselves can help to slow or reverse the potentially life-altering effects. |
Yes | |
Isles of Shoals |
Explore four centuries of life on the nine stark and hauntingly beautiful Isles of Shoals through a series of fascinating historical images in this program. Find out about the different communities of people who chose to live on the isolated Shoals over time, including fishermen, famous resort guests and scientists. Investigate the role the Isles played in the worldwide fishing trade of the 17th and 18th centuries and the resort industry in the 19th century. Discover the natural and cultural wonders of the Isles of Shoals today in the current educational & conference era. Finally, examine the lore and legends of the Isles of Shoals and determine the truth behind stories of pirates, treasure, ghosts and murder just 10 miles of the coasts of Maine and New Hampshire. |
6-12 | Yes |
What's So Great About Great Bay? |
The hidden jewel of the New Hampshire seacoast is featured in this colorful, informative and entertaining Power Point presentation about the Great Bay estuary. When fresh and salt water mix in an estuary, many unique and invaluable habitats are created, providing a home to many organisms and plants. This presentation explores those habitats and the fish, birds and mammals which find food and shelter in the estuary The history of the area is also examined, beginning about 12,000 years ago with a mile-high glacier that created a vast sunken river valley and continuing through the rapid industrial development of the Piscataqua Basin - the sawmills, shipyards and the growth of commercial fishing – featured in vintage photos and graphics. The unique nature of Great Bay to the region's landscape and the vulnerability of the Great Bay ecosystem are illustrated through several artifacts and materials left by the estuary’s organisms. Participants will discover how an attempt to build "the largest oil refinery in the world" – a threat to the entire New Hampshire Seacoast - was thwarted. |
9-12 | Yes |
Lobsters |
The life-cycle of a lobster is explored through a series of images in this dynamic program. The history of harvesting lobsters is outlined and the process of catching lobsters in traps is demonstrated for the audience. Participants have the opportunity to examine lobster traps, handle a live lobster and learn how lobsterman measure and band lobsters for the market. Through discussion, participants are encouraged to consider the balance between protecting the lobster species, providing a livelihood for lobstermen and ensuring that we continue to enjoy this delicacy from the sea. |
1-5 | No |
Marine Mammals |
This lively program that encourages critical thinking begins with a discussion of Power Point images that illustrate marine mammal characteristics and the physical and behavioral adaptations of specific marine mammals. Participants explore these similarities and differences of marine and land animals and the special adaptations that allow for finding food, breathing and staying warm in Atlantic sea water through a number of hands-on activities. For instance, participants have the opportunity to put one hand in a “blubber glove” and submerge both of their hands into ice water, timing and graphing how long they can keep each hand submerged before becoming uncomfortable. Other activities illustrate concepts of predictions and the enormous size of some marine mammals, the feeding techniques of baleen and toothed whales, and breathing adaptation differences in land and marine mammals. |
K-8 | No |
Rocky Shore |
The variety of marine organisms found in the barren rocks of the New England seacoast is explored through a series of spectacular images presented via Power Point. Participants engage in a detailed examination of the animals and marine algae that inhabit the different zones of the inter-tidal area between the low and high tide lines. Hands-on encounters with a sampling of the inter-tidal organisms, such as sea stars, green crabs, and sea urchins lead to a discussion of the adaptations each organism has developed to ensure that it remains moist, feeds adequately, avoids predators and stays put amid tides and crashing waves. |
K-12 | Yes |
Sandy Beach |
The sandy beach environment is introduced to the program audience through a series of images. Participants in this program are then engaged in two different hands-on activities that demonstrate the living and structural nature of the sandy beach. In one activity, participants examine a variety of marine organisms and plants found on the sandy beach. Animated discussion revolves around how each organism and plants feeds and how it has adapted to living in sandy conditions. In the second activity, participants examine different types of sand under a magnifying glass and determine the rock type from which the sand originated. Sand is tested to learn more about its origin and make-up. For example, a magnet is used to test whether iron is present in a sand sample; white vinegar is then added to determine if the sand is biogenic (from a once living source) or abiogenic (non-living source). |
1-5 | No |
Who Lives Here |
One of the pleasures of roaming the shore is discovering a variety of sea shells. This program encourages audiences to think about the organisms that lived in those empty shells, how they ate and how they moved about. School-age audiences are encouraged to view shells as homes for a variety of molluscs. Adult participants learn the history of mollusk shells in commerce and art, and the use of dyes obtained from molluscs. |
K-8 | Yes |
Plate Tectonics |
Plate Tectonics is the most exciting geologic discovery of the 20th Century! Geologists and oceanographers are continuing to make new discoveries every year. This science is unfolding before our eyes today. The Plate Tectonics SeaTrek will explore the ever-moving surface of our dynamic planet: Earth. |
K-12 | Yes |
