Outreach Programs

Science isn’t finished until it’s communicated.

We are excited to partner with Inwater Research Group and Jacksonville University Marine Science Research Institute to bring science into the classroom! We believe it is important to expose people of all ages to science, and what better way to bring science to them than with sea turtles!

Exposing students (and everyone!) to real world science can:

  • Empower individuals: Science communication helps us understand our world, fostering a deeper understanding of scientific concepts and their implications.

  • Make science accessible: It translates complex scientific information into a more approachable and engaging format for all of us.

  • Build scientifically informed individuals: By promoting scientific literacy, science communication empowers us to make informed decisions about science-related issues that impact our lives.

Through this partnership, we offer two types of programming:

  • Lending Library Trunks, where teachers can borrow fully-prepared lessons, sea turtle artifacts, and conservation-focused activities that meet Florida Sunshine State Standards

  • Outreach Trunks, where one of our volunteers or Jacksonville University students visits your group/classroom/organization to give an engaging lesson on sea turtles complete with fun activities for all ages.

Details on all trunks are below.

Lending Library Trunks

Thanks to our statewide partner network, teachers working in Florida schools can bring FREE hands-on, experiential conservation education to their classrooms through one of our Traveling Trunk programs. Our Traveling Trunks contain four engaging lessons that take students on a journey through conservation while highlighting the amazing world of sea turtles. Each trunk includes ready-made lessons that are pre-printed, pre-cut, and pre-laminated. All you have to do is copy student worksheets! Trunks also include items that pique student interest while covering important statewide benchmarks. Some items include sea turtle skull replicas, sea turtle models, biological tools, circuit boards, and so much more. Please view this video for an overview of the program. For more information about the individual trunks, please see details below.

These trunks are teacher-led and are only available to St. Johns and Duval County Schools. For all other counties, please visit this link and scroll to the map to see who is offering these programs in your area.

Traveling Turtles

This program is a great introduction to the sea turtles of Florida. Students will learn about what makes a sea turtle a sea turtle, as well as nesting habits, how to sample a population like real scientists, and how to collect data from their very own sea turtle model.

Lessons range in duration from 30 to 60 minutes.

Activities include: Out-of-the-seat games that teach about different aspects of turtle biology, a nesting relay race, a population sampling game, and our Rehab or Release program that has students making inferences based on observational data.

Some of the trunk contents include: Skull replicas of the 5 sea turtles we see in Florida’s waters as well as a corresponding food item for each, 10 individualized model turtles, 10 calipers, measuring tapes, a scale, a lesson binder, and interactive videos.

Standards this program covers: Elementary (K-5), Middle (6-8), High School (9-12)

Darker Skies, Darker Beaches

This program teaches students about the impacts lighting can have on sea turtle nesting. Students learn all about sea turtle biology, forms of energy, what makes a circuit, and how to create sea turtle-friendly lighting.

Lessons range in duration from 45 minutes to 2 hours.

Activities include: Hands-on stations, an interactive PowerPoint presentation with games, developing a circuit and testing conductors/insulators, using the Engineering Design Process to develop and implement your own light fixture, and assessing your school’s lighting.

Some of the trunk items include: Skull replicas of the 3 sea turtles we see nesting on Florida’s beaches as well as a corresponding food item for each, circuit walls, all the items to engineer a turtle-friendly light fixture, real light fixtures, and turtle-friendly light testers.

Standards this program covers: Elementary (K-5), Middle (6-8), High School (9-12)

Outreach Trunks

We bring the program to you! For these FREE outreach programs, we bring the science to your classroom/group/organization. One of our volunteers or Jacksonville University students will bring our program to your classroom on a mutually agreed-upon date. If you’d like a more specific program tailored to your needs, please email: info@micklerslandingturtlepatrol.org.

Turtles To Go

This trunk is fully booked during May 2025, and we are no longer accepting requests during that time.

This 1-1.25 hour outreach includes a:

  • Thirty minute presentation that contains benchmarks pulled straight from the curriculum for Florida schools. The topics cover what makes a sea turtle, the (up to) five different species in Florida, adaptations, the nesting process, and how students can help

  • 'Rehab or Release?' activity where participants will step into the role of biologist as they “work up” their own model sea turtle. Participants (either as one group or small groups) will walk through a modified capture sheet and collect data on their turtle to determine if the turtle is healthy enough to be released into the ocean, or if it needs to go to a rehab facility for care. Participants will learn how to take various measurements and make inferences based on observations. They will learn what types of human interactions are affecting sea turtles today and how they can help in their daily lives.

This program can be adapted for all ages.

Tag, You’re It!

This trunk is fully booked during May 2025, and we are no longer accepting requests during that time.

This 1 hour outreach program includes a:

  • Video-based instruction model

  • Tag, You're It! activity where participants are given a turtle with an unrecognizable tag and they put together clues to understand why, when and how that turtle was tagged, obstacles it encountered during its journey since being tagged, and threats sea turtles face worldwide. This activity provides a global understanding of interconnectedness, varying protections for turtles in different countries, and how we need to think globally when protecting sea turtles.

This outreach program is intended for 3rd-8th graders, but can be adapted for older audiences.

Enviroscape

All our local waterways are connected and our partners at Jacksonville University offer further outreach opportunities on to teach our community on how we can protect the St. Johns River. Through the CONNECTED program in partnership with Jacksonville University and JAXPORT, JU students come to you with an exciting outreach program with the portable Enviroscape.

Recommended K-5th grade.