Pacific Life WHALE Education Kit
In 1999, Ocean Alliance, with the generous help of the Pacific Life Foundation, published the WHALE Education Curriculum Guide and accompanying Kit.
The WHALE Education Kit is a multimedia, thematically based, hands-on education program designed to develop in students a comprehensive appreciation for whales, science and the ocean environment.
Ocean Alliance first introduced the program to educators at the "Whales and Technology" Workshop hosted by the Orange County Marine Institute (now the Ocean Institute). The kit was honored with a Parent's Choice Award and was quickly launched in over 110 classrooms in California.
Ocean Alliance staff visited nine selected Museums of Science/IMAX Theaters in the United States. Twenty to forty classes per city were invited to attend a complementary showing of Whales and each school received a free WHALE Education Kit. Ocean Alliance staff involvement provided a unique opportunity for students and educators to learn directly from experts in the marine mammal field and hear first hand information relating to the Whales film.
The WHALE Education Program is a collaborative effort between Ocean Alliance, Destination Cinema (National Wildlife Federation, Zephyr Productions) and selected Museums of Science across the Nation.
Goals:
* Increase awareness about whales and the problems all mammals face (including humans) and inspire students to learn more about the ocean environment and to act upon this new knowledge.
* Increase student interest in the sciences by making science relevant, interesting, fun, and accessible.
* Improve science literacy, thus enabling students to make informed, responsible decisions concerning the environment.
* Provide students with knowledge and first hand experience of research techniques used by whale scientists.
* Provide insights into the lives of whale researchers through meeting an Ocean Alliance staff person who also serves as a role model for students.
The Program Kit includes:
* WHALE Education Program Curriculum Guide and worksheets
* Whales Video (IMAX) by Destination Cinema, National Wildlife Federation, Zephyr Productions, Dr. Roger Payne/OCEAN ALLIANCE
* In the Company of Whales CD–ROM by the Discovery Channel and Dr. Roger Payne/OCEAN ALLIANCE
* "Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises – The visual guide to all the world's cetaceans" by Mark Carwardine/Eyewitness Handbooks
* Whales Zoobook by Wildlife Education, Inc.
* Dolphins and Porpoises Zoobook by Wildlife Education, Inc.
* Songs of the Humpback Whale CD by OCEAN ALLIANCE
* Deep Voices CD (blue, fin, humpback and right whale sounds) by OCEAN ALLIANCE
* Ocean Alliance ocean ecology poster designed by Laura Engleby and artist Robin Makowski
Are you interested in obtaining the Pacific Life/Ocean Alliance Whale Education Kit?
The WHALE Education Kit is available for $130.00 USD to educators who wish to incorporate these materials and lessons into their classroom. Please make checks payable to Ocean Alliance. Visa and MasterCard accepted. Please allow 2 weeks for delivery.
Ocean Alliance also offers free information packets that include information on six whale species, adopt-a-whale information, and general whale information on whaling, migration patterns, and population statistics. To contact us about these programs or to inquire about our education materials and programs please click here or email question@oceanalliance.org.
The Ocean Alliance is grateful to the Pacific Life Foundation for funding the development of the WHALE Education Program for levels 3–5.
The WHALE Education Program (levels 5–7) was produced by Ocean Alliance
