For the first time, three leaders in ocean exploration have brought together engaging ocean education materials and visual resources. The Deep Ocean Education Project website combines standards-aligned student activities, high resolution images and videos, stories from the field, and information needed to stay up to date on ocean exploration expeditions, making learning about the deep sea accessible to all. Users can save resources directly to a collection that they build and organize with a free account, and share their collections directly with colleagues or friends.

The website offers additional ways to connect with the deep sea including interactive map, tri-ship calendar, and live-streaming notifications, to make it easy to follow ocean exploration expeditions. There is an events and opportunities page to connect directly with the mission teams through live events, classroom programs, professional development workshops, and opportunities to join one of the teams at sea or onshore.

The website was launched on World Ocean Day (June 8th), and you can find it at www.DeepOceanEducation.org . The Deep Ocean Education Project was created as a collaborative effort to increase access to ocean exploration phenomena and resources featuring selected education resources from each organization. All materials are organized by key ocean topics and can be searched using filters for grade level, resource type, and U.S. Next Generation Science Standards. Added to the site are a number of new classroom activities that combine multimedia resources and discoveries into classroom investigations that explore key ocean phenomena and/or problems and incorporate current pedagogical practices. The video above introduces the features of the website.

The three organizations involved in creating the website are NOAA Ocean Exploration, Ocean Exploration Trust and Schmidt Ocean Institute. NOAA Ocean Exploration is the only US federal organization dedicated to exploring the deep ocean. They work with partners to explore the ocean to make discoveries of scientific, economic, and cultural value; support innovations in exploration tools and capabilities; and encourage the next generation of ocean explorers, scientists, and engineers to pursue careers in ocean exploration and related fields. Ocean Exploration Trust was founded in 2008 by Dr. Robert Ballard to explore the ocean, seeking out new discoveries in the fields of geology, biology, maritime history, and archaeology and to advance ocean exploration. The Schmidt Ocean Institute was established in 2009 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt to advance oceanographic research through the development of innovative technologies, open sharing of information, and broad communication about ocean health.