Teachers Look to Nature: A BayLines Original Article

This past March, San Francisco Bay Area teachers delved deeper into biomimicry, marine science activities, and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) at Marine Science Institute’s seventh annual teacher event, “Ship to Shore – All you need to know and more!”

Teachers participated in two mini-workshops which included the exact same hands-on activities that students do during MSI programs. The teachers examined marine animals, made observations, investigated animal adaptations and recorded their findings. The teachers then looked for ways to

apply their observations and findings to solve a human problem. Educating teachers to help them incorporate NGSS and environmental education into their classroom is one of MSI’s goals.

Adding to the excitement of the night was a raffle for gift certificates to local businesses and three MSI programs. Teachers sat with fingers crossed in hopes of winning a free field trip for their students. The prize winners were

• Fumiya Kojima of Ulloa Elementary School in San Francisco who won an Inland Voyage program.

• Becky Kim of Sunnyvale Middle School in Sunnyvale who won an Inland Voyage program.

• Nancy Julien of Henry Ford Elementary in Redwood City who won a Marsh and Beach Exploration.

A special “thank you” to the donors that made the evening a success: Broadway by the Bay, Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company, Dragon Productions, Go To Chocolates, La Honda Winery, Ladera Garden & Gifts, LuLuLemon, Palo Alto Players, Portola Kitchen, Russian Ridge Winery, Soquel Vineyards, The Wine Club, Trojack-KnierWinery, Voila Hair Design – Sheridan & Jayna (Stylists), and Whole Foods Market.

We hope the teachers in attendance gained some valuable new ideas and resources to take back to their classrooms, as well as enjoyed learning about MSI and our programs. MSI’s staff, marine educators and science instructors enjoyed hosting the teachers and look forward to next year’s “Ship to Shore – All you need to know and more!”