Exciting Opportunities for Educators Marine Masterpieces 6th Annual Student Art Contest & Exhibition Sea Search: a marine science program for high school teachers and students Seashell Science Education Kit Predatory Bird Research and Conservation School Assemblies Activities and Resources Teacher Mailing List Marine Masterpieces 6th Annual Student Art Contest & Exhibition Come celebrate the 6th anniversary of Marine Masterpieces, the Seymour Center’s annual student art contest and exhibition. The artistic talent of dozens of students in grades K-12 is currently on display in the Seymour Center exhibit hall through May 24. Marine Masterpieces was open to individual students and groups who produced works that "communicated a message about marine life/science, ocean conservation, or marine scientists." Individual winners were selected in each of five grade categories: K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, and 9-12th grade. Winners were also selected from a separate category for group artwork. A total of 314 artists produced 215 original works of art that were judged by a panel of five judges. An awards ceremony and reception was held for the artists on April 4 at the Seymour Center. First-place winners received one-year student memberships to the Seymour Center, while their teachers received a voucher for $100 toward a class field trip to the center; other prizes included art supplies, books, T-shirts, and DVDs. The awards ceremony and reception was enjoyed by all as the student artists, along with their families, friends, and teachers viewed an exhibit hall full of their very own "marine masterpieces." Special thanks to Edie and Bob Rittenhouse and Phyllis Simpkins for their generous sponsorship of Marine Masterpieces 2009, and to all of the students, teachers, and parents who participated in this year’s contest and exhibition. How to claim artwork submitted for Marine Masterpieces 2009: ART PICK-UP DAY (mark your calendars!): Saturday, May 30, 2009, 10:00 AM-4:30 PM Seymour Center at Long Marine Lab ALL artwork entered in the contest MUST BE PICKED-UP on SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2009, 10:00 AM-4:30 PM. Please note that unless prior arrangements have been made, all artwork not picked up by 4:30 PM on May 30, becomes property of the Seymour Center. We do not return artwork by mail. If you are not available to pick-up art on Saturday, May 30, please contact Suzanne Hebert (shebert@ucsc.edu, (831) 459-5725) at the Seymour Center NO LATER THAN TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009 to arrange an alternate pick-up time. Look to this web page in the fall for information and entry forms for Marine Masterpieces 2010! Click here to view a list of the 2009 contest winners. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it. Download a free copy of Acrobat Reader here.) 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 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. For more information or to schedule an assembly, visit the SCPBRG web site at http://www.scpbrg.org, or e-mail falconet@ucsc.edu. 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. Learning Programs: School | Youth | Teacher | Visitor | Member | Student