{"id":678744,"date":"2026-09-08T15:37:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T15:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/678744\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T15:37:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T15:37:17","slug":"1000-museum-visitors-dive-into-nasa-sea-level-science-on-world-ocean-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/678744\/","title":{"rendered":"1,000 Museum Visitors Dive Into NASA Sea Level Science on World Ocean Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 1,000 visitors explored NASA sea level science firsthand during World Ocean Day at the University of Georgia Aquarium on Skidaway Island on June 6, 2026. The free event was supported by NASA\u2019s Science Activation program through the Sea Level Education, Awareness, and Literacy (SEAL) project<\/a> \u2013 a national effort that connects NASA sea level rise data with educators and coastal communities, particularly those historically underserved and already experiencing sea level impacts.<\/p>\n

SEAL is a partnership between NASA and four NOAA Sea Grant programs working together to expand sea level rise understanding across U.S. coastal regions. By co-developing lesson plans, interactive activities, and place\u2011based learning experiences, SEAL helps educators engage learners with real NASA observations, models, and projections while strengthening community resilience to climate change.<\/p>\n

During World Ocean Day, SEAL partners at Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant and the Coastal Equity and Resiliency Hub at Georgia Tech led hands\u2011on activities that brought sea level science to life. Visitors played the \u201cTumbling Tower\u201d game, where removing blocks represents different community impacts from rising seas, and made \u201csea level friendship bracelets\u201d that used colored glass beads to represent observed sea level rise along local coastlines.<\/p>\n

The event also marked the debut of a new augmented reality sand box developed through SEAL. Guests shaped sand into coastal landscapes and watched NASA-informed sea level rise projections transform their creations in real time. Participants could experiment with resilience strategies, such as adding dunes or relocating homes, to see how adaptations might help communities prepare for future change.<\/p>\n

Educators \u2013 formal, informal, home-based, and more \u2013 attending the event were able to take home four different SEAL lesson plans designed for both classrooms and informal learning settings. These materials help students explore sea level rise processes, modeling, variation, and impacts through NASA data and interactive STEM activities. SEAL aims to make all lesson plans developed through the project available online, but until then, please email Shannon Matzke<\/a> to request digital copies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorld Ocean Day is an annual tradition at the UGA Aquarium,\u201d said Shannon Matzke, Marine Educator and Public Program Coordinator at UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. \u201cWith the support of NASA\u2019s Science Activation program, this year\u2019s event was free, which allowed us to reach more people and different audiences than we typically see. Incorporating SEAL activities made the day even more impactful for visitors \u2013 many of whom live in coastal communities already experiencing the effects of sea level rise.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SEAL project is supported by NASA cooperative agreement award number NNH21ZDA001N-SCIACT and is part of the NASA Science Activation<\/a> Program portfolio, which connects learners with authentic NASA science experiences through partnerships with educators and community organizations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 1,000 visitors explored NASA sea level science firsthand during World Ocean Day at the University of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":678745,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[270],"tags":[7844,18,1337,19,17,107460,133,57494,451],"class_list":["post-678744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-earth-science","tag-eire","tag-for-colleges-universities","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-opportunities-for-educators-to-get-involved","tag-science","tag-science-activation","tag-space"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117236167643357667","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=678744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/678745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=678744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=678744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=678744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}