2022-2023 Library Programs
The Department of Marine & Coastal Sciences here at Rutgers has partnered with the Department of Youth Development to provide several programs for the public at libraries across NJ. Programs will be taught by faculty, graduate students, and/or education professionals here at Rutgers.
Ocean Science Programs for Youth Grades 5-8
(Limit 20 kids per program, designed for grades 5th-8th grade; $300/program, one activity per program, includes a 60-minute session with instructions and supplies)
Explorers of the Deep
Designed by Rutgers University, the 2022 4-H STEM Challenge Explorers of the Deep focuses on the mysteries and adventures of ocean exploration- with robots and more! Young people will learn how to use STEM to explore Earth’s Ocean and how it relates to all life on the planet.
The STEM Challenge activities will help youth develop observational and critical thinking skills while exploring the interconnected nature between the ocean and humans. They will learn about the incredibly complex relationship between Earth’s oceans and the global climate.
The Challenge Activities (Select one activity per program):
Engineering and Design Ocean Robot Test Tank is an activity where youth learn how to “ballast” their ocean robot by adding weights to replicate the sinking and floating behavior of a real ocean robot. They will investigate data collected by ocean robots and learn about the value of ocean exploration.
Host a Board Game Night! Ocean Expedition is a board game where youth navigate their ocean robot around the world while learning key ocean concepts. Topics include aquaculture, climate change, innovation, human impact and the ocean ecosystem. The game also includes Augmented Reality (AR) components!
Earth Day & Ocean Conservation Focused Ocean Communicator is an activity in which young people investigate challenges that ocean scientists, engineers and technologists are currently addressing. They will design and advocate for innovations and technical solutions that inspire public action.
Life On Other Planets
- Limit 20 kids per program, designed for grades 5-8
- $300/program, two activities per program, includes instruction and supplies
- Includes a 90-minute session
Are we alone in the Universe? How did life begin on this planet?
Join NASA-funded researchers from the ENIGMA project as we explore how life developed on this planet and how life could have formed on other planets, including Mars! Youth will engage in hands-on learning and discussions with Rutgers educators and researchers.
Activities available (Pick 2):
- Build a model Solar System: Make and take home your own solar system
- Explore the building blocks of life: Build model proteins with LEGOS
- Is it alive? Explore what is alive or not alive with hands-on experiments with yeast
- Extremophiles: Explore extreme environments and build your own fictional extreme creature that can only live in a specific environment on one of the planets.
- Foldoscopes: Build and take home a paper microscope that brings unknown worlds to life!
Come Aboard the Rutgers Science Explorer
Why are there dead fish? Youth delve into an investigation of New Jersey marine ecology; understanding the animals, habitat and environmental issues of the Raritan Bay and surrounding areas. Join Rutgers scientists aboard our mobile and explore food webs, water quality and the human impact effects as students look into the causes of a hypothetical fish kill event and discuss solutions.
- Limit 20 kids per program, designed for grades 5-8
- $300/program, includes bus visit, instruction and supplies
- Options include up to 3 x 90-minute sessions or 4 x 75-minute sessions
- Please email: sciencebus@sas.rutgers.edu for bus requests
Ocean Science Programs for Youth Grades K-4
- Limit 20 kids per program, designed for grades K-4
- $300/program, one activity per program, includes instruction and supplies
- Includes a 90 minute session
Ocean Waves & Currents
Learners will explore what makes the ocean move through hands on activities and demonstrations from a Rutgers University scientist. Youth will enjoy story time reading, My Life with the Wave by Catherine Cowen, and receive instructions on how to create a wave in a bottle to do at home.
The Great Plankton Race
Learners will explore the tiny plants and animals that drift in the ocean at the mercy of the ocean currents. Whatever their size, they must avoid sinking too deep and must stay in the sunlit layers of the ocean. Youth will explore an incredible array of unique adaptations that help they avoid sinking and engage in a fun contest to design the slowest sinking plankton. Youth will enjoy story time reading Sea Soup: Phytoplankton and will explore pictures of real ocean drifters and will take home their plankton
Sand Laboratory
Learners explore sand from around the U.S. using hand lens and microscopes. Youth will enjoy a story time reading of the “The Sights that Sand has Seen” the story of Sandy the sand grain and her evolutionary journey from the mountains to the sea and take home their sand sample card.