While many of us are confined to quarters for the next few weeks we all need something to keep us motivated and our minds active. Coast Monkey has come up with a list of free marine-themed resources available to keep ourselves and the little ones busy and entertained. We’ll keep it updated as we find more and if you have any suggestions get in contact!
Marine Activities & Resources for the kids
School might be off but that doesn’t mean education stops. The ocean is an endless source of wonder and so it’s a great place to start to keep those little ones busy.
1. Flukey Friday with the IWDG
Join the IWDG each Friday on Facebook Live where Sibéal Regan, Simon Berrow and other marine mammal experts will be talking all things whales and answering your questions. Send in your whale stories or questions live by commenting and interacting with Facebook live on the Irish Whale and Dolphin Groups Facebook page or send in your questions to education@iwdg.ie before Friday.
2. Explorer Education Ocean Facts and Lesson Plans for School Children
The Marine Institute’s Explorers Education Programme’s outreach team are sharing their favourite marine facts and lesson plans about the ocean, for teachers, parents and primary school children to use while they are doing their school work from home as part of its “Meet the Explorers Team” online initiative.
3. Learn Water Safety Skills with PAWS
Water Safety Ireland has put together a great resource with beautiful illustrations, a wealth of tips and advice, and all sorts of interactive games and puzzles to teach kids vital water safety skills. PAWS (Primary Aquatics Water Safety) outlines these essential life-saving guidelines that every child needs to know.
4. Meet a Marine Biologist Mondays with ORC Ireland
Ocean Research and Conservation Ireland are delighted to be hosting an online classroom for kids to chat to marine biologists from all over the world. This event is for children of all ages under 18. It involves a weekly 30 minute question and answer session, with the scientists also presenting a talk about their research and work. These video calls will take place every Monday. The calls will be recorded for our YouTube channel to be enjoyed by a wider audience.
5. RNLI Water Safety Resource
The RNLI has launched to the rescue of parents and teachers who are in need of content and support for home schooling their children. The lifesaving charity is offering downloadable content as well as a Facebook Live event every Wednesday at 10.15am on their Facebook page. Each week they will focus on a different water safety message and will link to some fun educational resources for families to have a go at as well.
6. Something Fishy Online Education
Learn all about water, fish and their habitats, the life of a salmon and its journey, nutrition, angling, the environment and fish and humans. Resources come in the form of videos, stories, images, activity cards, quizzes and slide shows. There are also some fun and simple experiments that can be done at home for example making a garden in a bottle. It also has an ‘As Gaeilge’ section that is suitable for all ages and a great way to incorporate Irish in a fun way!
7. Get Colouring with these cool activities from Galway Atlantaquaria
Visiting your favourite aquarium might be off the cards right now but you still get creative with some of these amazing marine critter colouring pages from Galway Atlanaquaria’s Facebook page. Download them, print them out and get colouring!
Explore the Irish Coast from your couch
There’s nothing quite like getting out and exploring the coast but for those of us unlucky to be further than 2km away, we’ll have stay away for now. That doesn’t mean we can’t still explore some of the amazing features around the coast though. Here are a few amazing resources that will tide you over until we can all make a much-needed visit to the coast!
8. Discover the Eire signs around the coast
Heritage maps is a fantastic resource that allows you access a wide range of built and natural heritage datasets in map form. They’ve recently added a new layer to show the location of Eire signs around the coast. They compiled the information with the help of Satellite, drone, aerial imagery and fellow enthusiasts and identified lost sites and created a baseline record of these important remnants of a troubled period in our history. Give it a go and see if there’s any located near you.
9. Explore the seafloor with INFOMAR’s interactive maps
The INFOMAR programme has been meticulously mapping Ireland’s seabed and have created an amazing resource of interactive and story maps. You can search for shipwrecks, learn about Ireland’s maritime history and marine diversity. If you love maritime history, this will keep you entertained for hours!
Learn Something New
10. One Planet, One Ocean -Free Course on Ocean Sustainability
If you’re interested in learning more about ocean sustainability check out this free course offered by SDG Academy. The course is a holistic view of how the ocean functions, how human interactions with the ocean can be understood, and what solutions are available to support both sustainable use and stewardship of our blue planet.
11. Sail School from Home with the Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School
Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School have been hard at work and put together a fantastic series of free short theory lectures on topics ranging from kids sailing, powerboating, yachting and some shore based programmes. All videos are available to view for free on their Facebook page. This is a great resource and well done to the team at INSS.
We’ll be updating this list as we find them and if you have any suggestions email us at info@coastmonkey.ie
