Outreach & Education

We offer professional learning opportunities for educators, many of which involve working alongside NOAA scientists and engineers. For additional opportunities, visit the NOAA educator opportunities database.

Teacher at Sea

Teacher at Sea provides teachers hands-on, real-world research experience working at sea with world-renowned NOAA scientists. The program provides a unique opportunity for kindergarten through college-level teachers to sail aboard NOAA research ships to work under the tutelage of scientists and crew.

Learn more about Teacher at Sea

Watch this video to meet a Teacher at Sea and see how she brings her experience working with NOAA scientists back to the classroom.

Teacher in the Lab 

Teacher in the Lab in Seattle, Washington is a 2 to 3-week summer program that brings high school teachers into the genetics laboratory at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center’s Mukilteo Research Station. Teachers learn about conservation genetic research techniques and research.

Learn more about Teacher in the Lab

Planet Stewards Education Project

Planet Stewards provides K-16 educators with ongoing professional development and support to build a climate-literate public actively engaged in climate stewardship. The program also provides support for educators to implement climate stewardship projects to increase the understanding of climate science and take practical actions to reduce the impacts of climate change.

Learn more about the Planet Stewards Education Project

STEM Teacher and Researcher Program

STAR is a nine-week paid summer research experience program for aspiring K-12 STEM teachers. It provides aspiring STEM teachers with opportunities to do authentic research while helping them translate their research experience into classroom practice.

Learn more about STEM Teacher and Researcher Program

Bay Watershed Education and Training

B-WET funds locally relevant, authentic experiential environmental education for K-12 students and related professional development for educators. B-WET serves California, Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, Hawai'i, New England, and the Pacific Northwest.

Learn more about Bay Watershed Education and Training

We offer programs that give students and the public a better understanding of our oceans; inspire youth to pursue careers in science and stewardship; and provide traditionally underrepresented communities with access to scientists and engineers. Below are a sampling of our programs. Additional programs are available in the student opportunities database.

K-12 Opportunities

Summer Camps

NOAA Science Camp

NOAA Science Camp in Seattle, Washington introduces middle school and high school students to the multidisciplinary nature of research through hands-on science. This camp offers three programs: a week-long summer science camp for middle school youth; a two-week high school Junior Leadership program; and a three-day Remotely Operated Vehicle mini-session.

Learn more about NOAA Summer Camp

NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Science Camp 

NOAA Fisheries Science Camp in Honolulu, Hawai’i brings middle school students to NOAA's Inouye Regional Center in Honolulu, Hawai’i for one week. Through fun, hands-on activities, campers learn from our scientists and managers how we study ocean species and their habitat.

Learn more about NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Science Camp

Savannah State University Coast Camp 

This is a four-week ocean science program in Savannah, Georgia that teaches K-12 students about the ocean through an interactive, hands-on curriculum.

Learn more about Savannah State University Coast Camp

School Programs

NOAA Enrichment in Marine Sciences and Oceanography Program 

NEMO is an afterschool program Washington, District of Columbia for inner city schools that provides marine science activities, field trips, and resources for teachers and students, and encourages them to participate in the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, a national academic competition for high school students.

Learn more about NOAA Enrichment in Marine Sciences and Oceanography Program

NOAA Outreach and Education on Protected Species

This program offers lessons on marine mammals and NOAA Fisheries science with hands-on activities, presentations, and projects for K-5 classrooms Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Learn more about NOAA Outreach and Education on Protected Species

Students Collaborating to Undertake Tracking Endangered Sturgeon 

SCUTES participants collaborate to learn about shortnose and Atlantic sturgeons along the east coast of the United States.

Learn more about Students Collaborating to Undertake Tracking Endangered Sturgeon

Alaska Sea Week

As part of Alaska Sea Week, a marine and wetland curriculum provides marine science interpretive programs for K-6 students in the Juneau School District in Juneau, Alaska.

Learn more about Sea Week

Milford Laboratory Open House and High School Research Collaborations 

Local and regional school groups visit NOAA Fisheries’ Milford Laboratory for a day of lab visits in Milford, Connecticut. The Milford Laboratory also collaborates with two regional aquaculture high schools on shellfish and fish aquaculture.

Learn more about Milford Laboratory Open House and High School Research Collaborations

Science Fairs and High School Senior Projects

Through the following programs, high school students can partner with scientists and engineers on science fair and senior projects.

• Alaska Fisheries Science Center scientists mentor students in the Southeast Alaska Regional Science Fair in Juneau, Alaska.

• Pacific Islands Regional Office staff match scientists with interested students for projects.

• Southwest Fisheries Science Center hosts high school students for summer internships.

• Southeast Fisheries Science Center hosts high school interns.

Partner Programs

Ocean Discovery Institute (San Diego, California)

Ocean Discovery Institute in San Diego, California, uses ocean science to empower young people from under served urban communities to transform their lives, their community, and our world as scientific and conservation leaders.

Learn more about Ocean Discovery Institute

Undergraduate and Graduate Educational Opportunities

Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Young Scientist Opportunity 

A collaborative program between the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. This summer program offers professional scientific research experience and formal training opportunities for undergraduate students.

Learn more about the Young Scientist Opportunity

Quantitative Ecology and Socioeconomics Training

QUEST educate and trains the next generation of ecosystem scientists, stock assessment scientists, and economists. It also provides learning and training opportunities on the science behind fisheries management to the general public.

Learn more about Quantitative Ecology and Socioeconomics Training

Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation   

CMBC is a collaboration among NOAA, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego; and the San Diego Supercomputer Center. The collaboration provides interdisciplinary training linking the natural, social and informatic sciences with the goal of training the next generation of marine science scholars.

Learn more about the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation  

Ongoing Learning Opportunities

Voices from the Fisheries

The Voices from the Fisheries collects and stores oral history interviews related to commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishing in the United States and its territories. The database is a powerful resource available to the public to inform and educate anyone interested in our local, human experience with the surrounding marine environment.

Learn more about Voices from the Fisheries

Visit our educational materials directory to search our inventory of resources for teachers, students, and the general public.

*Please continue to check back! We are in the process of migrating our extensive library of outreach and education materials from our old websites to our new directory.