Ocean Commotion Moving Online this Fall
The 23rd Annual Ocean Commotion will be going virtual, allowing more schools and students to participate.
Typically, Ocean Commotion is held on the Louisiana State University Baton Rouge campus each fall and attracts more than 2,000 students, as well as teachers and chaperones, to the coastal stewardship fair. Exhibitors usually number 60 or more. Information presented at Ocean Commotion details coastal phenomena in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. Due to challenges posed by COVID-19, this year’s Ocean Commotion is virtual.
“In an effort to ensure the safety of school children, teachers, volunteers and exhibitors, Louisiana Sea Grant (LSG) has decided that Ocean Commotion 2020 will be an online experience,” said Dianne Lindstedt, LSG education coordinator. Ocean Commotion Online will be Oct. 12. More information – as well as a link to the virtual event – will be found at www.laseagrant.org/education/projects/ocean-commotion/teachers/.
“Our plan is to offer K-8th grade classrooms an online portal with a variety of pre-recorded lessons and demonstrations designed to highlight Gulf of Mexico coastal systems,” said Lindstedt. “Recordings will be between three to five minutes and include supplemental materials to help engage students and assess their comprehension of the topics presented. We have about two dozen exhibits lined-up.”
Exhibitors include the Baton Rouge Zoo, University of New Orleans Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Sciences, LSU Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, Louisiana Art and Science Museum and the Louisiana Sea Grant Oyster Research Lab. Their STEM lessons will help bring the coast to classrooms and student computers.
Although anyone will be able to log into Ocean Commotion Online when it goes live on Oct. 12, teachers are asked to register for the event so they can participate in a follow-up survey and have supplemental materials made available to them. To register, visit http://lsu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3achNwTJke0BapD.
Ocean Commotion Online content will be archived so it can be used by teachers and students for future projects. For additional information, contact Roy Kron at [email protected].