Creating and Implementing Ocean Science Education Kits in Rural Baja California Sur: An ASLO Global Outreach Initiative Program Progress Report

My ASLO global outreach project aims to enhance science education in several small, rural towns in Baja California Sur, Mexico. I am developing ocean science education kits that come with all necessary laboratory equipment, teaching protocols/curricula, and worksheets to introduce basic aquatic science concepts to local students. The main goal of this project is to bring aquatic sciences to children from a community with hardly any connection to science. The hope is that this simple experience can get students interested in school, science, and their oceans. This curriculum hopes to foster student's awareness of how their land and their oceans are linked and how their actions can have large and lasting effects. For a few, it may even stimulate a lasting interest in school and science. However, the ultimate goal of the project is to bring resources into an educational system that is severely in need and create a long-lasting enhancement in aquatic science education in the community. These wide-ranging activities include plankton ecology, land–ocean connectivity, plastics and pollution in the oceans, and general oceanography and ocean geography. A crucial component to a successful outcome of this project is networking with local teachers and educators. Over the past year, I have connected with educators from three different towns along the coast of Baja California Sur. I have presented my ideas, aims, and goals to local educators and have discussed ways to effectively implement hands-on activities in their classrooms. So far, the majority of my time working on this project has been spent purchasing and crafting the materials needed for the laboratory activities and developing the worksheets and teacher information packets that accompany each kit. I am currently working on four different activities. The first activity is all about introducing students to plankton. I have purchased one small 15 cm diameter plankton net with a 120 μm mesh and have salvaged and refurbished a larger 30 cm diameter plankton net for this activity. In addition, I have purchased one classic microscope and one digital microscope with a small, portable projector. The students split into groups and take turns conducting plankton tows at the beach right next to their schools, taking the associated metadata, and rinsing the samples into jars. They then transport the samples back to their classrooms where both the digital and classic microscopes are set up. The students then get the chance to explore their samples either in small groups or together as a class using the digital microscope and projector. Younger students will become familiar with the basic concepts of plankton and their role in the marine ecosystem, and older students will also quantify and compare the densities and diversities of different groups. This activity and supporting materials are ready to enter the initial testing phase, and I have identified a teacher and a class who are willing to be first to try the curricula and provide feedback (Fig. 1). Three more activities are also included in the initial scope of the project. For these three, all necessary materials have been purchased and brought down to Mexico, but the curricula are still being finalized. This activity involves collecting sediment samples from different local beaches and water depths, and analyzing sediment size distributions (using stacked sieves and mass balances) and compositions at the various locations. Concepts covered include types and origins of different sediment/sand types, sediment transportation, coastal erosion, and the beach as a habitat. This activity involves a beach cleanup, sieving sand for microplastics, and building a model watershed. Concepts covered include land–ocean connectivity, the flow of garbage and pollutants into the ocean during rain events, the breakdown of plastics into microplastics, and ecological consequences of plastics in the ocean. This activity involves closely examining a global bathymetry map and setting up colored density-stratified pools of water (both temperature and salinity). Concepts covered include density, salinity, basic ocean circulation, and major bathymetric features in the oceans. In addition to the four initially proposed activities, I have also secured an OpenROV Trident (a portable mini remotely operated vehicle [ROV]) through the Science Education and Exploration Initiative and am planning to add a deep-sea activity to the host of available curricula. This deep-sea activity will involve basic facts about the mesopelagic and deep benthic ecosystems, include viewing of ROV videos taken locally, and open up a discussion about the technology involved in sampling in the deep sea. In addition to securing the ROV for the project, I have created a small, mesopelagic animal collection from the generous donations of colleagues to aide in the discussions of the animals that inhabit the deeper, darker waters and their unique adaptations. When networking with local educators and first introducing the project, I was overwhelmed with the excitement, enthusiasm, and gratitude of both local teachers and school directors. The schools of El Sargento, La Ventana, and Los Planes and I want to thank the ASLO community and the Global Outreach Initiative for selecting a Mexican project and specifically this proposal to be a recipient of this grant. This project is quite ambitious in its scope, but I have made considerable progress over this past year and am excited to begin testing the activities and curricula in classrooms in the coming year! Stay tuned for more updates and progress throughout the coming year! Thank you ASLO!