Smithsonian Secrets of the Sea

Dive Into the Unknown

The following experiences will take you on an incredible underwater adventure. Whether you’re a budding marine biologist, game enthusiast, or teacher looking for cool science content, we’ve got you covered.

Interact with the content

INTERACT

Navigate the hidden treasures of a coral reef in the “Secrets of the Sea” online interactive.

From the tiniest plants to the largest hunters, discover the connections between the creatures in a coral reef. Recreate a healthy ecosystem by finding living things and returning them to the coral reef.

Approx. 30 minutes to complete. Closed captioned, works across modern desktop browsers, and requires no software downloads.

Meet the Scientists

WATCH

Meet the scientists leading the fight against climate change.

As the threat of climate change continues to grow, the science used to monitor and confront those changes is evolving as well. Dr. Nancy Knowlton, Sant Chair for Marine Science at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, offers a glimpse of her career that has spanned decades studying changes in the oceans and introduces the next generation of scientists and researchers using cutting edge technology to understand the impact of humans on the oceans.

Image courtesy of Christian Ziegler.

A classroom activity

LEARN

Explore the vibrant world of coral reefs through videos, an online game, and hands-on activities.

In this elementary school classroom activity you'll learn about what coral is, how groups of them can grow into a reef, and what threats they face with climate changing the ocean temperatures. You'll also meet Smithsonian experts in the field, using cutting-edge technology to combat climate change.

Aligned to Next Generation Science Standards (4-LS1-1, 5-PS3-1, and 5-LS1-1).

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