Be a Marine Biologist for a Day is a package of educational resources to assist teachers, marine tourism operators and reef guides in facilitating high-quality experiential learning excursions for students visiting the Great Barrier Reef.
This comprehensive suite of educational resources includes customisable teaching, instructional resources and activities that are curriculum-linked and aligned with specific stages of learning from prep through to year 12.
This toolkit is based on the Reef Authority’s long-established Eye on the Reef - Rapid Monitoring reef health survey methodology and builds students’ citizen science skills.
The Be a Marine Biologist for a Day initiative brings together a number of Reef Authority programs, including Reef Guardian Schools, High Standard Tourism Operators, Master Reef Guides and our Eye on the Reef Program.
The resources support opportunities for students to undertake place-based learning activities in the Great Barrier Reef region and provide opportunities for marine tourism operators to enhance and develop educational products and experiences to stimulate new market travel and subsequent Edutourism visitation to the region.
- Be a Marine Biologist for a Day educational resources:
- Be a Marine Biologist Primary School resources
- Be a Marine Biologist Middle School resources
- Be a Marine Biologist Senior School resources
- All Be a Marine Biologist for a Day resources
These resources are customisable and are age appropriate from prep through to year 12 and target Science and Geography subject areas.
This program will develop the future generation to participate in the Reef Authority’s Eye on the Reef monitoring program, which contributes to the long-term protection of the Great Barrier Reef.
The Be a Marine Biologist for a Day is broken down into three parts. Preparing to find out phase where students are learning at school about the Rapid Monitoring methodology and the species they will discover on the Reef.
The finding out phase is out on the Great Barrier Reef, where students get their heads underwater and undertake citizen science activities.
The final phase which occurs in the classroom is making connections where students expand what they experienced on the Reef and connect it to the world around them.
- Included in the resources are:
- Instructional manual for Reef Guides
- nearly 30 customisable PowerPoint presentations
- Pre and post-snorkel briefing flipbooks for tourism operators
- Three versions of underwater slates for students to undertake Rapid Monitoring surveys
- Student activity books and teacher answers
- Assessment task
