Well, everyone, we made it! This is the last week of Oceans of Possibilities! I hope you've earned some great books and amazing prizes, and had fun learning along the way. Be sure and finish strong--keep tracking your reading and earning prize tickets! We've spent seven weeks investigating animals that live in the ocean, ocean exploration, and how important the ocean is to all of us who call Earth home. This week, we're going to focus on what we can do to conserve, or take care of, this vital resource.
#READ: Ducks Overboard by Markus Motum
Inspired by a real incident, this look at the pollution crisis in our oceans follows one of the ducks as it is washed away on ocean currents, encountering plastic-endangered whales and sea turtles and passing through the giant floating island of marine debris known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. A picture book with an ultimately hopeful message about environmental issues and the state of our oceans. An end map documents the widely scattered journey of the real-life plastic ducks, showing where they have been found, as well as facts about the ways plastic is affecting various parts of the world.
#PLAY: Beachcomber's Bingo
Let's get trash off of our beaches and out of our neighborhoods with this game everyone can play! Get your family and friends together, and go for a walk on one of our beaches. If you can't get to a beach, that's okay! Take a walk in your neighborhood. Take gloves and a bag to collect the trash you find—you might not think what you're doing makes a difference, but it definitely does. Our marine life, ocean, and environment thank you!
The object is to mark off on the card the kinds of trash you find on your beach (or neighborhood) walk. At the end of your walk, the person with the most items checked off, wins!
Now, hang onto the trash you collected for the activity below.
#EXPLORE: Make a Litter Monster
You can re-use the litter that was collected playing Beachcomber's Bingo and make a "monster" or creature out of it. Not only is it re-using trash, but it shows how much trash you removed from the environment.
Supplies:
- Litter collected from a beach or neighborhood walk, such as plastic bottles, plastic bags, food wrappers, netting, rope, bottlecaps, cup lids, etc.
- Scissors
- Glue
- Tape
- Construction paper
- Markers
- Assorted embellishments (glitter, pipe cleaners, google eyes, etc.)
Instructions:
- Wash off your materials and allow to dry.
- Look at your materials and think about how you want your monster to look. If desired, sketch it out on a piece of paper first. What would make good tentacles? Perhaps some string or strips of plastic bag. How would you make the center? Maybe ball up and tape some plastic bags together. Let your materials guide your design.
- Create your monster, using tape and/or glue to secure items together.
- Embellish with markers, pipe cleaners, google eyes, construction paper, whatever you like! Make your Trash Monster uniquely yours.
#JOIN: Attend a program virtually or in person!
View all school age programs and events offered this week.
For virtual programs, registration is required to receive the Zoom link; use the link in the program information to register.
For in person programs, registration is required; if space allows, walk-ins will be admitted. Use the link in the program information to register.
