Students Investigate Coral Science and Bleaching with ANGARI Foundation and the Scientists in Every Florida School Program

ANGARI Foundation shared coral reef science with 116 students at Roosevelt Middle School in West Palm Beach, Florida. Coordinated and facilitated by Stephanie Killingsworth, K-12 Education and Outreach Coordinator from the University of Florida’s Thompson Earth Systems Institute’s Scientist in Every Florida School program, the ANGARI Education team set up shop in Roosevelt’s media center and library where they welcomed 5 different classes over the course of the day.

The sessions began with an introduction to the foundation and coral reefs from ANGARI Foundation’s Director of Science Education & Advancement, Dr. Amanda Waite. The students were then split into groups to rotate through activities, including viewing Generation Ocean: Coral Reefs 360/virtual reality film and completing a series of related hands-on activities co-written by Killingsworth and Waite. One engaging exercise allowed the students to experiment with coral bleaching, recovery, and graphing using thermally sensitive 3D printed coral polyps. Roosevelt’s tech savvy students also used smart board technology to examine real world coral bleaching and recovery scenarios recorded in photomosaic reef imagery collected by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary while on board the science ocean research vessel R/V ANGARI (home port West Palm Beach in Palm Beach County, Florida) during ANGARI Expedition 10.