Harbor Outreach Program (HOP)

Harbor WildWatch has developed a series of inspiring hands-on educational science workshops that are designed to meet student EALR/GLE/SIP requirements. Our forty-minutes-to-one-hour workshops explore energy, transference, ecology, geology, physics, life sciences, and basic chemistry through marine topics, in order to promote a greater understanding of the Puget Sound area we call home. Designed to accommodate up to 30 students, our Harbor Outreach Program (HOP) will assist you in meeting your WASL (equivalent) testing goals.

Being a local grassroots 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to environmental education in Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula, our goal is to inform children and area residents about their marine environment and inspire them to protect and preserve the wealth of our natural resources.

Please contact Rebecca Mullen at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 253.514.0187.

Listed below are the workshops currently available with our instructors Monday through Friday. Please book as far in advance as possible, as they fill quickly.

Workshop Topics:

Two by Two (Preschool-2^nd) – An early introduction into the differences between and the classification of terrestrial and marine plants and animals through an inter- active match game. EALR 1.1.1 1.1.6 1.2.1 1.2.6 1.3.8 1.3.10 2.1.1 2.1.5 2.2.2

Blubber (K^nd-3^rd) - Orcas are found in all the oceans of the world around the 50^th parallel latitude. Puget Sound is home to three distinctly unique pods of orcas that are in severe decline compared to other killer whale families. Learn how we impact our resident orcas and examine how blubber works as an insulator, enabling this and other species to survive our frigid waters. EALR 1.1.1 1.16 1.2.2 1.2.6 1.3.10

Where is the Water? (K^nd-3^rd) - Water is the most unique and precious earth material known. This workshop investigates the origins of water and its significance to the workings of our planet. It is the introductory program for our geology series Slip Sliding Away 1& 2, Movin’ Glaciers and The Watershed Model. Through an interactive game of bingo, students learn how to identify the properties of water and explore where water resides. EALR 1.1.1 1.1.5 1.3.4 1.3.10 2.1.3 2.1.5

Slip Sliding Away 1 & 2 (3^rd-5^th) – Puget Sound, geologically, is a very active location with many forms of erosion continually altering our surroundings. We first investigate the physics of gravity, friction and force through experimentation between wind, water and chemical influences upon our natural world. The second workshop explores tectonic erosion through a PowerPoint presentation, model simulation and practicum examination. EALR 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.5 1.2.1 1.2.3 1.2.4 1.3.1 1.3.4 2.1.3-.5 2.2.1-.3 3.1.1

Movin’ Glaciers (3^rd-5^th) – Before the last ice age, the Puget Sound basin was at sea level, merely a lowland valley with enclosed lakes, and closed off from the Pacific Ocean. We explore glacial advances, retreats and how present day ice contraction is changing our world through hands-on activities with glacial erosion modeling. EALR 1.1.1 1.1.5 1.2.1 1.2.3 1.2.4 1.3.1 1.3.3-.5 2.1.3-5

The Watershed Model (3^rd-5^th) – We investigate the hydrologic cycle from the mountains to the sea. Students learn how to define a watershed, and how Puget Sound is affected by what happens in the local watershed with our hands-on 3-D model. Students learn strategies to mitigate impacts and how they can protect our marine environment. EALR 1.15 1.2.1 1.2.2 1.2.4 1.3.3 1.3.6 2.1.1 2.1.2-.5 3.2.4

Hold On To Your Home (2^nd-6^th) – Life in the intertidal zone can be harsh. Tides, weather, herbivory, competition, predation, disturbance and succession all play a role in survival. We discover adaptations that make survival possible while determining ways for a “new” species the student designs, to be successful in its niche & community. EALR 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.2.1 1.2.7 2.1.5

Energy Through the World Wide Food Web (2^nd-6^th) – Energy transfer is a difficult concept to learn. We address this topic through building a marine food web, from base level habitat through apex predator, in an interactive game format. EALR 1.1.1 1.1.3 1.1.4 1.1.6 1.2.1-1.2.3 1.3.8-10 3.2.4

Salmon Significance (2^nd-6^th) – Salmon have long played an integral role in the history, prosperity and the future of the Pacific Northwest. Learn how unique these indicator species are to our region, their importance to multiple ecosystems, the obstacles they must overcome to survive and how students can help protect our threatened and endangered runs through age-appropriate games. EALR 1.1.2 1.1.6 1.2.1 1.2.6 1.2.7 1.3.10 2.2.1 2.2.5 3.1.3

Estuary Mystery (3^rd-6^th) – Learn how an estuary plays such a vital role in the ecology and the food web of the sea. Scientists have made a mistake in the lab, and so we need junior scientists to identify where our water samples originally came from through testing of salinity, density, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and plankton. EALR 1.1.1 1.1.6 1.2.1 2.2.1-.3 2.2.5 3.1.3 3.2.3 3.2.4

Time Will Tell (6^th-8^th) – A lesson in marine mammal comparative anatomy is prefaced with the Earth’s Geologic Time Scale told through our fossil and bone collection. Students identify a mystery animal through form follows function. EALR 1.1.6 1.2.7 1.3.5 1.3.9 1.3.10 2.2.1-2

Symbiosis, The Great Equalizer (6^th-8^th) – Using a PowerPoint presentation, coral skeletons and a giant clam shell we talk about symbiotic relationships, co-evolution and the effects that climate change are having on those relationships. EALR 1.1.6 1.2.1 1.2.3 1.2.6 1.2.7 2.2.5 3.2.4

Ocean Soup (6^th-8^th) – Students learn the relationship between ocean currents and sea life diversity. Utilizing video formats and through the game, Sea through Soiled Sea, we investigate how the industrial age threatens that process by examining the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” EALR 1.1.2 1.2.1-2 1.3.6-.7 1.3.10 2.1.5 2.2.1 3.1.3 3.2.4

All workshops are accompanied by teacher reinforcements, in-class activity worksheets, a math problem and suggested reading that correspond to each workshop. Click here for a sample workshop.

Pre-Workshop: review that energy can be expressed as the ability to do work, and where sources of energy come from (atmosphere, light, minerals, water and food.) Explain the difference between a plant nutrient, herbivore, carnivore and a decomposer.

Follow up: review vocabulary: matter, biomass, energy, primary & secondary productivity, calorie, photosynthesis, biomagnification and food chain. Have the kids finish the food web below.

Suggested reading: The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten: A Book About Food Chains by Joanna Cole- Mrs. Frizzle is off in the magic school bus through the ocean.

Energy through the World Wide Food Web

What is the difference between phytoplankton and zooplankton? Which would have more energy value?

If marine algae (kelp) have only holdfasts and no roots to get nutrients from the soil, where do they get their energy from to grow? What is this process called?

Is a food chain and a food web the same? Explain.

A clam takes in water and filters the plankton out for food. A sea star eats the clam. A crab eats an arm off the seastar. An octopus catches the crab and has lunch. A tuna spots the octopus and consumes it. Mom and dad go out for sushi and eat that tuna. Start at the lowest level of food energy and diagram with arrows a food chain and the direction of how the caloric energy is moving (added) from one species to the next.

Math problem:

Energy can be measured in calories. Joe ate a serving of crab that contained 285 calories dipped in 2 ounces of melted butter at 100 calories per ounce. He added a side of mashed potatoes at 55 calories. He drank an 8 ounce glass of milk at 120 calories. What was Joe’s total calorie intake for this meal? If Joe was still thirsty and drank another 4 ounce glass of milk, what would be his total caloric intake? Show your work.

Please contact Rebecca Mullen at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 253.514.0187. Please book as far in advance as possible.