TOPP.org
Bringing marine science in your classroom
Integrate exciting marine science and technology into your curriculum by following the adventures of leatherback turtles, white sharks, elephant seals, and other great ocean predators on TOPP.org. TOPP (Tagging of Pacific Predators) scientists from around the world attached satellite tags to over 20 different species that roam the Pacific Ocean. Tags send daily updates allowing students to follow the real-time movements of animals like “Omoo” the white shark, “Genevieve” the leatherback sea turtle, and “Stelephant Colbert” the elephant seal.
TOPP.org is an interactive playground featuring life history and “fun facts” on each species, blogs from scientists in the field, “ask-a-scientist” features, and curriculum ideas for your classroom. Explore “Ocean” in Google Earth using data from TOPP critters and learn more about each tagged animal by visiting its Facebook page!
Funding for TOPP.org is provided by The David and Lucille Packard Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Office of Naval Research, and The Census of Marine Life.
Sea Search: A Marine Science Program
for High School Teachers and Students
Sea
Search is a marine science program designed to provide
high school science teachers with an easy way to incorporate marine
science into their curriculum, and to provide opportunities for
high school students to become engaged in science through the
Seymour Center’s ocean-themed exhibits, programs, tours,
and volunteer opportunities.
Realizing
that logistical and financial challenges make it difficult for many
high school teachers to coordinate learning-based field experiences
for their students, Sea Search is a marine science program
students can participate in on their own time and outside of school
hours. Sea Search is easy on teachers (requiring
almost no prep time), and enriching, yet challenging for students.
The Sea Search curriculum is aligned with California
Science Content Standards.
For more information on Sea Search, including how the
program works and how to get your students involved, click
here.
Seashell Science Education Kit
The Seymour Center has partnered with the Santa Cruz Museum of
Natural History (http://www.santacruzmuseums.org) to offer a new
seashell education kit for teachers. The Seashell Science kit contains
shells representing nearly 30 species of marine animals from Monterey
Bay. Curriculum suggestions for grades K-2 are included, focusing
on adaptive features of seashore animals. Activities are aligned
with California Science Content Standards and challenge students
to sharpen their observation skills, while incorporating language
and creative arts. In addition to the shell collection and curriculum,
the kit also includes activity sheets, answer keys, two reference
books, and a teacher preview pass to visit the Seymour Center.
To learn more about the Seashell Science kit call the Seymour
Center at (831) 459-3800.
Seashell Science is now
available. To
reserve
Seashell Science or other education kits for loan from
the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, call the museum at (831)
420-6115. Kits are available by reservation only.
Predatory Bird Research and Conservation
School Assemblies
The Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group (SCPBRG), based at
Long Marine Lab was instrumental in the effort to bring the peregrine
falcon back from the brink of extinction, and now they want to
share the inspiring story of the peregrine with your students.
Scientists and educators from the SCPBRG are available to visit
your school for assemblies and class visits for students in grades
three through adult. Students will meet a live peregrine falcon
during the presentation, learn about the peregrine’s amazing
adaptations for survival, and hear the stories of the dedicated
scientists whose work led to the removal of these fascinating predators
from the Endangered Species List. Great teaching resources and
activities for your students are also available.
Marine Masterpieces Student Art Contest and Exhibition
Dear Marine Masterpieces Teachers and Students,
As you all know, our schools are facing some of the most challenging financial difficulties we’ve ever experienced, and unfortunately, self-funded entities like the Seymour Center are not immune to the recession or state budget cuts. The Seymour Center operates under the umbrella of UC Santa Cruz, however we have always raised about 80 percent of all the funds it takes to run the Center––through program and admission fees, fundraising events, memberships in the Friends of Long Marine Lab, as well as private donations, grants, business sponsorships, facility rentals, and Ocean Discovery Shop sales. As can be expected, this year and in future years, we will have significantly less university funding and fundraising is also increasingly difficult. We are working hard to continue to provide the quality programs you have come to expect from us, however we must also anticipate and plan for a year of increased financial challenges. With these challenges weighing heavily on us and after careful consideration, we have decided not to hold the Marine Masterpieces Student Art Contest and Exhibition in 2010. This news is unfortunate for many reasons, not the least of which is knowing many of you have made the art contest part of your curriculum for the past six years, and so many of your students look forward to sharing their love of the ocean through their artistic talents each year. We have every intention of reinstating Marine Masterpieces in the future, so please do stay on our mailing lists and check back with us.
In the meantime, 2010 will mark the Seymour Center’s 10th anniversary! We plan to celebrate this milestone of marine science education in our community by featuring some of the work produced by Marine Masterpieces artists since the contest began in 2004. Look for your young artists’ work to be showcased throughout the next year in our event invitations, advertisements, and in a special 10th anniversary edition of the Seymour Center’s Marine Masterpieces art cards. We may even contact your student artists to share their personal stories of why the ocean is important to them, so stay tuned!
And one last note—although not displayed publicly or acknowledged with awards, we always enjoy receiving student art that we share with our staff and our many volunteers. It’s always a pleasure to receive student artwork in our mailbox knowing that each original piece is a “marine masterpiece” in and of itself.
Thank you for your support of and participation in Marine Masterpieces for the past six years. Although the program in on hiatus for now, we hope to use this time to evaluate and strategize in an effort to bring Marine Masterpieces back as a stronger, more efficient, and sustainable program.
Sincerely,
Suzanne Hebert
Youth Programs Manager
Use the links below to view the lists of Marine Masterpieces contest winners for the past six years.
(You will
need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the lists. Download
a free copy of Acrobat Reader here.)
Click
here to view a list of the 2009 contest winners.
Click here to view contest
winners from Marine Masterpieces 2008.
Click
here to view contest winners from Marine Masterpieces 2007.
Click here to view contest
winners from Marine Masterpieces 2006.
Click
here to view contest winners from Marine Masterpieces 2005.
Click here to view contest winners
from Marine Masterpieces 2004
Activities and Resources
Take advantage of ready-to-use learning activities
and resources on a variety of marine science
topics. Make the most of your field trip or
science unit with these activities. Also,
find useful suggestions for organizing your
class visit to the Seymour Center. Click
here to view activities and forms.
Teacher Mailing List
Make sure you receive notification of new educator resources and opportunities
as they become available. Call (831) 459-3800 and request to be added
to our teacher mailing list.
Integrate exciting marine science and technology into your curriculum by following the adventures of leatherback turtles, white sharks, elephant seals, and other great ocean predators on 
Sea
Search is a marine science program designed to provide
high school science teachers with an easy way to incorporate marine
science into their curriculum, and to provide opportunities for
high school students to become engaged in science through the
Seymour Center’s ocean-themed exhibits, programs, tours,
and volunteer opportunities.
Realizing
that logistical and financial challenges make it difficult for many
high school teachers to coordinate learning-based field experiences
for their students, Sea Search is a marine science program
students can participate in on their own time and outside of school
hours. Sea Search is easy on teachers (requiring
almost no prep time), and enriching, yet challenging for students.
The Sea Search curriculum is aligned with California
Science Content Standards.
The Seymour Center has partnered with the Santa Cruz Museum of
Natural History (
species of marine animals from Monterey
Bay. Curriculum suggestions for grades K-2 are included, focusing
on adaptive features of seashore animals. Activities are aligned
with California Science Content Standards and challenge students
to sharpen their observation skills, while incorporating language
and creative arts. In addition to the shell collection and curriculum,
the kit also includes activity sheets, answer keys, two reference
books, and a teacher preview pass to visit the Seymour Center. 
The Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group (SCPBRG), based at
Long Marine Lab was instrumental in the effort to bring the peregrine
falcon back from the brink of extinction, and now they want to
share the inspiring story of the peregrine with your students. 
As you all know, our schools are facing some of the most challenging financial difficulties we’ve ever experienced, and unfortunately, self-funded entities like the Seymour Center are not immune to the recession or state budget cuts. The Seymour Center operates under the umbrella of UC Santa Cruz, however we have always raised about 80 percent of all the funds it takes to run the Center––through program and admission fees, fundraising events, memberships in the Friends of Long Marine Lab, as well as private donations, grants, business sponsorships, facility rentals, and Ocean Discovery Shop sales. As can be expected, this year and in future years, we will have significantly less university funding and fundraising is also increasingly difficult. We are working hard to continue to provide the quality programs you have come to expect from us, however we must also anticipate and plan for a year of increased financial challenges. With these challenges weighing heavily on us and after careful consideration, we have decided not to hold the Marine Masterpieces Student Art Contest and Exhibition in 2010. This news is unfortunate for many reasons, not the least of which is knowing many of you have made the art contest part of your curriculum for the past six years, and so many of your students look forward to sharing their love of the ocean through their artistic talents each year. We have every intention of reinstating Marine Masterpieces in the future, so please do stay on our mailing lists and check back with us. 
In the meantime, 2010 will mark the Seymour Center’s 10th anniversary! We plan to celebrate this milestone of marine science education in our community by featuring some of the work produced by Marine Masterpieces artists since the contest began in 2004. Look for your young artists’ work to be showcased throughout the next year in our event invitations, advertisements, and in a special 10th anniversary edition of the Seymour Center’s Marine Masterpieces art cards. We may even contact your student artists to share their personal stories of why the ocean is important to them, so stay tuned! 
