Explorers Club World Ocean Week
Live Classroom Events
Welcome to the Explorers Club’s World Ocean Week Classroom Events! We’ve brought together an exciting crew of ocean explorers, researchers and conservationists to take students into our planet’s final frontier. Join in all week long to meet with and learn from those on the frontlines of exploring, documenting, understanding and protecting our ocean. We live on a blue planet, come explore it with us! Keep scrolling to find the Octopus Drawing contest in partnership with Octonation!
Monday | The Deep-sea
Richard Garriott de Cayeux | Journey to the Bottom of the Ocean
June 6th @ 9:00am eastern
After diving to Mariana Trench’s Challenger Deep in early 2021, Richard became the first explorer to have explored pole to pole, orbited the Earth, and reached the deepest point in the Ocean! Join Richard during World Ocean Week as he shares his adventure exploring the deepest point of our ocean!
Richard Garriott de Cayeux currently serves as the President of the Explorers Club. He is a founding father of the video game industry and the commercial spaceflight industry, a flown astronaut, and the first explorer to have explored pole to pole, orbited the Earth, and reached the deepest point in the Ocean. Richard is an avid explorer, having traveled around the globe from the jungles of the Amazon to the South Pole, the deep seas of the Titanic and hydrothermal vents to orbiting the earth aboard the International Space Station, and most recently to Challenger Deep, the deepest point in our Oceans.
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Peter Girguis | Creatures of the Deep
June 6th @ 10:00am eastern
Join Peter to check out some cool creatures from the deep and learn about how they are collected using exciting technologies. Pete is a professor of organismic and evolutionary biology at Harvard University and an Adjunct Oceanographer in Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. His research focuses on microbes that flourish in so-called “extreme environments”. He and members of his lab also develops new methods or technologies to help answer previously unanswered questions, such as the ABISS robotic lander that can be used for studying animals and microbes in the deep sea. Peter is also deeply committed to engaging a broader diversity of folks in marine science.
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Live From EV Nautilus | Johnston Atoll Mapping
June 6th @ 11:00am eastern
Head onboard Bob Ballard’s Expedition Vessel Nautilus as they map the ocean floor around Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean! The Nautilus is 68-meter ship on a mission to explore the never-before-explored areas of the ocean and seek out new discoveries, sharing them live to the world. Using cutting-edge technology like multi-beam sonar and the ROVs Hercules and Argus, The Ocean Exploration Trust (OET) and the Nautilus Exploration Program seek out new discoveries in the fields of geology, biology, maritime history, archaeology, and chemistry, while pushing the boundaries of education, outreach, and technological innovation.
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Tuesday | Magnificent Marine Life
Callie Veelenturf | Protecting Sea Turtles
June 7th @ 9:00am eastern
Callie is a marine conservation biologist who is dedicated to ocean preservation. Sea turtle research has led her to various countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and West Africa. In 2019 she established a nonprofit called the Leatherback Project, which is dedicated to leatherback sea turtle conservation throughout their global range. The project focuses on protecting this species through research, education, and advocacy initiatives. Its mission is to work towards restored balance, decreased anthropogenic pressures on overexploited resources, and a sustainable future for the world’s ocean ecosystems and coastal habitats. Callie has represented marine wildlife, the oceans and youth at the United Nations for World Wildlife Day, the Global Landscapes Forum, and World Oceans Day.
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Pablo Borboroglu | Global Penguin Society
June 7th @ 10:00am eastern
Pablo can often be found on the beach in Patagonian Argentina as he works to protect breeding colonies of Magellanic penguins. Pablo is the founder and President of the Global Penguin Society (GPS), an international science-based conservation coalition that protects the world´s penguin species. Since 1989, he has worked in the field of marine conservation. His work focuses on different aspects of the ecology, management and conservation of seabirds, with special emphasis on penguins. He leads a global conservation effort to benefit penguins in several countries at different scales, including the creation of large marine protected areas in land and in the ocean and the improvement of penguin colony management.
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Chelsea Bennice | Exploring an Octopus’ Garden
June 7th @ 11:00am eastern
Chelsea is based out of South Florida where she spends her time under the sea in octopuses’ gardens. She received her PhD from Florida Atlantic University and is currently involved in research studying octopus’ microbiology and behavior. Chelsea has a varied career history in marine biology, but her true passion is researching her favorite cephalopod — the octopus. Her 1,000 hours spent underwater studying Florida octopuses has even earned her the nickname “OctoGirl,” a moniker she uses to share her underwater photography and videography featuring octopuses on social media. Chelsea uses underwater photo and videography to share her research and show her passion for octopuses and marine conservation. Chelsea is the Associate Education Manager at Manatee Lagoon and lead scientific advisor for OctoNation, a non-profit with the mission to inspire ocean exploration and conservation through octopus education.
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Afternoon Event
Fabien Cousteau | A New Era of Ocean Exploration
June 7th @ 1:00pm eastern
Join Fabien Cousteau to learn about PROTEUS™, the International Space Station of the Ocean and its 3D mapping initiative off the coast of Curaçao, an important step in the decades-long movement to map the entire surface of the ocean floor.
Currently only about 80% of the ocean hasn’t been explored. 3D maps can provide a window to the mysteries at the bottom of the ocean. In this session Fabien will dive into how mapping the ocean floor can make navigation safer and more efficient, while obtaining a better understanding of ocean circulation, weather systems, sea level rise, and climate change, that can lead to more ways to conserve and sustainably use the oceans.
As the first grandson of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Fabien spent his early years aboard his famous grandfather’s ships, Calypso and Alcyone; and learning how to scuba dive on his fourth birthday. He is well known for his study of sharks and from 2000-2002, Fabien was an Explorer-at-Large for National Geographic.
In June 2014, Fabien and his team of aquanauts embarked on Mission 31, the longest science expedition to take place at Aquarius, the world’s only underwater marine laboratory located in Florida. Early in 2016 he founded the Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center (“OLC”) to fulfill his dream of creating a vehicle to make a positive change in the world.
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Wednesday | Women in Ocean Science and Exploration
Pier Nirandara
June 8th @ 9:00 am eastern
Pier Nirandara is a bestselling author, Hollywood film producer, and underwater photographer from Bangkok, Thailand. She began her career as the youngest English-writing Thai author of three #1 national bestselling novels with over 200,000 copies sold in multiple languages. As an avid proponent for solo female travel, Pier has visited over 90 countries across 7 continents. She is the founder of Hollywood Sharks, the industry’s first scuba diving club, and leads underwater photography expeditions to swim with marine wildlife, hoping to utilize storytelling to bring attention to fragile ecosystems and conservation efforts. She currently splits her time between Bangkok, Los Angeles and Cape Town. She can be found mostly underwater and @piersgreatperhaps.
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Ripleys Aquarium of Canada | A Dive In Dangerous LagoonJune 8th @ 9:15am eastern
Dive in to Dangerous Lagoon with us to celebrate World Ocean day and all our amazing animal ambassadors! Meet our sharks, sea turtles and fish and discover the role you can play in keep the ocean healthy-even if you live nowhere near it.
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Seeing Sea Turtles Survive With Dr. Pamela Fletcher
June 8th @ 10:00 am eastern
Join Dr. Pamela Fletcher, Program Director for the Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center share information about three Programs — Florida, Curacao, and Nicaragua – and meet members of the Nicaragua Sea Turtle Project. We will explore undersea and on the beaches to learn more about the FCOLC’s efforts to bring awareness and engage the next generation of ocean stewards through research, outreach, and educational activities.
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Thursday | Green Ocean
Benjamin Jones | Seagrass
June 9th @ 9:00am eastern
Join Ben as he takes us into the incredible world of seagrass! He cofounded the marine conservation charity Project Seagrass after realizing that seagrasses were frequently ignored in the world of marine conservation. This global organization aims to conserve seagrass ecosystems through education, influence, research, and action. Ben focuses on working to enhance understanding of the importance of seagrass using creative design to communicate scientific research to the wider public. Previously he focused on examining factors that affect seagrass growth and using of Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) systems to assess fish in the Indian Ocean, was a scientific advisor in the development of BBC’s landmark series Blue Planet II and since 2015, he has primarily focused on how seagrass meadows provide food security and poverty alleviation, mainly across the tropics.
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Cheryl Doughty | Mangroves
June 9th @ 10:00am eastern
Join Cheryl as she takes us into the incredible world of mangroves! She’s a postdoctoral researcher studying how blue carbon ecosystems like mangroves and salt marshes are responding to climate change. Cheryl combines information about plants on the ground with imagery collected from drones, planes, and satellites (remote sensing) as she seeks answers to how and why mangrove ecosystems are changing across scales, from individual plants to landscapes across the world. She is currently a NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellow at the Goddard Space Flight Center working with Dr. Lola Fatoyinbo and mapping where tropical mangroves meet temperate salt marshes in order to uncover changes in mangrove habitat, structure, and carbon storage in coastal ecosystems.
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Josie Iselin | Kelp
June 9th @ 11:00am eastern
Join Josie as she takes us on an adventure as an artist exploring the world of the seaweeds and kelps. She walks the beach a lot, brings seaweed and kelp specimens back into her studio and has learned how important these beautiful plants of the ocean are, and how much they can teach us about their ocean world.
Josie is the author of numerous books combining the art and science of our oceans. Her newest book, The Curious World of Seaweed, was released August, 2019. She holds a BA in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard and an MFA from San Francisco State University. Her writing and art focused on seaweed, kelp, and sea otter put her on the forefront of ocean activism, collaborating with scientists and groups working to preserve the kelp forests of our Pacific Coast. Through art, design and research, she celebrates the marine flora and brings thoughtfulness and stewardship to this realm of our oceans. You can often find her on various coasts at low tide exploring tide pools and investigating the intertidal realm.
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Afternoon Events
Brian Skerry | Secrets of the Whales
June 9th @ 1:00pm eastern
Dive into Brian’s riveting journey as he set out to discover the hidden culture of whales around the world, an adventure that was turned into a Disney+ movie and book.
Brian is a photojournalist specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments. Since 1998 he has been a contributing photographer for National Geographic Magazine. In 2014 he was named as a National Geographic Society Fellow and in 2017 he was named the Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year. For National Geographic Magazine, Brian has covered a wide range of stories, from the harp seal’s struggle to survive in frozen waters to the alarming decrease in the world’s fisheries to dolphin intelligence, all cover stories. A fourth cover story, in February 2017 focused on protecting special underwater ecosystems. During this coverage Brian produced the first images of a US President underwater.
Brian is the author of 11 books including the acclaimed monographs Ocean Soul and SHARK. His work in highlighting environmental, ocean issues has been effective in helping the public understand that their choices matter and have also helped elected leaders make policy decisions including gaining protections for endangered species and creating marine protected areas.
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Friday | Sharks!
Andrej A. Gajić | Sharks of the Mediterranean
June 10th @ 10:00am eastern
Andrej is a scientist, biology professor, research diver, published author, awarded photographer, entrepreneur, traveler and parachutist. As a research scientist, he is conducting original studies covering aspects of zoology, ecology and pathology of sharks, skates and rays, in order to develop long-term conservation strategies across the Mediterranean, and beyond. He’s the co-founder and CEO of the Sharklab ADRIA Center for marine and freshwater biology (Malta, EU), and Head scientist of the Shark Tales at National Geographic in Washington, D.C. He enjoys spending time with animals, helping them and trying to understand them. He has worked closely with over 30 species of sharks, skates and rays; as well as other charismatic animals such as comb jellies, horseshoe crabs, snakes, owls, hedgehogs, racoons, lions and way more.
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Andrea Marshall | Protecting Manta Rays
June 10th @ 11:00am eastern
Andrea was the first to complete a PhD on manta rays. She stayed on in Mozambique to spearhead the conservation efforts of these animals along this remote coastline. During this time she co-founded the Marine Megafauna Foundation, an organization dedicated to saving our ocean giants from extinction. As a conservation biologist and principal researcher at MMF, her team focuses predominately on questions related to the effective management and conservation of threatened marine animals. Andrea campaigns globally for the protection of marine giants from whale sharks to manta rays, using her scientific background to formulate plans for their management. Aside from dramatically increasing the level of knowledge on manta rays themselves, Andrea’s discovery of a new giant species of manta ray in 2009 was one of the largest new species to have been described in the last few decades.
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Afternoon Event
Live Visit to The Turtle Hospital
June 10th @ 1:00pm eastern
Join us as we head to the Florida Keys to The Turtle Hospital, to meet some of the sea turtles being rehabilitated as well as some of the resident turtles!
The Turtle Hospital opened its doors 1986 with four main goals: 1) rehab injured sea turtles and return them to their natural habitat, 2) educate the public through outreach programs and visit local schools, 3) conduct and assist with research aiding to sea turtles (in conjunction with state universities), and 4) work toward environmental legislation making the beaches and water safe and clean for sea turtles. The Turtle Hospital contains up-to-date equipment needed to perform a variety of surgeries on different species and sizes of sea turtles. There are 7 species of sea turtles throughout the entire world. Five of the seven are found in Florida: Green, Loggerhead, Leatherback, Hawksbill, and Kemp’s Ridley.
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Bonus Event June 1st
Meet Peace Boat’s Ocean and Climate Youth Leaders
June 1st @ 2:00 pm easternPeace Boat is a Japan-based international NGO which promotes peace, human rights, and sustainability. Established in 1983, it holds Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations (UN).
Peace Boat carries out its main activities through a passenger ship that travels the world. Working in partnership with UN SDG Action Campaign, Peace Boat’s activities onboard and in port empower participants, strengthen local capacity for sustainability, and build people-to-people cooperation beyond borders. The voyages, run on a social business model, blend sustainable tourism, lifelong learning and friendship activities with educational programmes, cooperative projects, and advocacy.We’ll meet the Emilie McGlone, Director of Peace Boat US and learn about the UN World Ocean Week and Peace Boat programs. Joining her will be several youth leaders including:
- Khadija Stewart, from Trinidad and Tobago, coordinator of the Sustainable Ocean Alliance Caribbean network / Founder of Ecovybz Podcast
- Silvia Cantu, from Mexico, Peace Boat Youth for the SDGs scholar, scuba diver, underwater photographer, COP 26 youth negotiator
- Sara Van Eerde, from New York, Youth for the SDGs scholar, ocean advocate, spoken word poetry for the oceans
Register: https://forms.gle/49wC4HUXLrgJqE9S8
Octopus Drawing Contest
Step One, check out the recordings of our 2 events with Octonation:
Armed with their new knowledge of octopus superpowers and new skills for drawing one, students can put pencil to paper to draw their own octopus. The rules are simple, on a piece of paper, at least 8.5×11 inches, they can draw an octopus using one of its superpowers. It can be one they learned about in the lesson or they can do some research and pick a different superpower. Pictures can be in colour or they can be left in black and white with good details. If students want to get really creative, they can choose to draw an octopus with a new superpower or more whimsical.
Find all of the details and enter here: https://www.exploringbytheseat.com/octopus/
Contest Winners!
Colour Category
Black and White Category
Whimsical Category
