‘Kelp’ us Expand Maine’s Place-based Elementary Curriculum!
Important Project Updates!
September-October: Seaweed Curriculum Resources become available on webpage
We are currently preparing curriculum resources to be posted on this page beginning at the start of the school year. Emails will be sent to all folks who have expressed interest in this project when resources become available! Thank you for your interest in this project, and make sure to stay updated by filling out our form if you haven’t done so already!
November 3rd Workshop: Save the date!
Register here for this in-person workshop in Belfast, Maine. Please note, the workshop is only open to Maine educators at this time. Contact hours for educators will be offered for participation.
September-December: ‘Kelp’ Us Learn video series roll out
Our video series with Maine seaweed professionals is being developed and will be added to curriculum on this webpage as they become available. Get a taste of this video series here with our first episode on seaweed reproduction and hatcheries!
Number of Books Distributed (out of 1,000)
With a Little Kelp from Our Friends!
Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, in collaboration with The World Wildlife Fund, is on a mission to get educational resources about seaweed aquaculture into Maine’s 5th grade classrooms. During the summer and fall of 2023 we will distribute With a Little Kelp from Our Friends– a book on the secret life of seaweed written by Mathew Bate and illustrated by Liz Rowland– to educators. The book will be accompanied by teacher resources to increase literacy around seaweed aquaculture.
Some of the book’s important themes include:
- Seaweed farming and food security
- Seaweed biology and ecology
- History of seaweed use around the world
- Seaweed’s role in solutions for a changing climate
Interested? Click below to Receive Project Related Updates!
By teaching these ideas to kids at an early age, it will help them to understand why seaweed aquaculture is important to the state of Maine, and how it can help:
- Stabilize our fishing communities in the face of a changing climate and ocean
- Preserve working waterfronts
- Provide food with high nutritional value to our communities
Let’s get started!
We want to empower YOU to teach your students about aquaculture.
In addition to providing hard copies of With a Little Kelp from Our Friends to Maine 4-6 educators, we have gathered, reviewed, and created resources to accompany key sections of the book. This seaweed curriculum is available to all educators and can be found below.
MAIC would like to specifically thank Maine Cooperative Extension: 4-H and Maine Agriculture in the Classroom for their key roles in developing and categorizing these resources.
For an introduction to seaweed aquaculture and this project, check out our webinar where we cover:
- the global context of seaweed aquaculture
- seaweed aquaculture in Maine
- seaweed education opportunies and project information
We also hear from a panel of profesionals in the seaweed world about their work bringing seaweed to Maine communities.
Please Note: We are so glad that you love seaweed as much as we do! At this time copies of the book are only available for educators in Maine. However, we welcome all educators, even those outside of Maine, to sign up to receive information about our webinar and other digital resources relating to the book!
Seaweed Educational Materials for Elementary Classrooms
We divided the book With a Little Kelp from Our Friends into 13 topic areas plus an introduction and a conclusion. Information, classroom activities, and resources for further research are gathered below.
Section 1: Introduction
About this Section: This section is an immersion into the world of Seaweed. It orients students to the world of Seaweed in Maine and how this industry mirrors themes found in With a Little Kelp From Our Friends.
Activities and Links:
About the Activity: The Skills Inventory (Pre-Assessment) is a google form educators can use with their strudents as a pre-assessment. It is designed to help educators guage the amount of learning gained through the use of this seaweed curriculum. The Word Wall is a document that can be printed and used as a visual for students as they work through these new concepts in the classroom.
‘Kelp’ Us Learn Video: Introduction featuring Jaclyn Robidoux (Maine Sea Grant) and Maya Pelletier (Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center)
Book Pages: 4-5
Section 2: Early Earth and Seaweed
About this Section: In the early days of life on earth, seaweed played an important role in helping to form the atmosphere and life on earth. This section talks about those early days and the evolution of seaweeds since.
Activity Name and Link: Seaweed Evolution Game
About the Activity: The Seaweed Evolution Game is an active classroom activity that gets students up and moving, engaged in a game that explores different phases of seaweed evolution.
‘Kelp’ Us Learn Video: Early Earth and Algae featuring Susan Brawley (University of Maine) and Jessie Muhlin (Maine Maritime Academy)
Book Pages: 6-11
Section 3: Seaweed Reproduction and Hatcheries
*This activity aligns with the following NGSS standards:About this Section: When we farm seaweed, we start the process in the controlled setting of a hatchery. Seaweed reproduction is not a straigneed affair, and working in a hatchery allows scientists and farmers to give baby seaweeds (called gametophytes) the best chance at progressing to their next life stage (sporophytes). This section covers the complexity of seaweed life history.
Activity Name and Link: Kelp Nursery Model
About the Activity: The Kelp Nursery Model activity asks students to think about the needs of a baby seaweed and how we can meet those needs in a hatchery setting. They will design their own hatchery system to meet those needs.
*This activity aligns with two NGSS standards:
- 5-LS1-1. Support an argument that ‘plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water.’
- 3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
‘Kelp’ Us Learn Video: Seaweed Reproduction and Hatcheries featuring Adam St. Gelais (Aquaculture Research Institute)
Book Pages: 12-13
Special Thanks: This activity heavily referenced Maine Sea Grant’s Kelp Nursery set up.
Section 4: Seaweed Biology
About this Section: To farm a complex organism like seaweed, we first need to understand how the organisms lives and grows. This section talks about seaweed biology and what these creatures need to grow happily in their environment.
Activity Name and Link: Seaweed vs. Plant Comparison
About the Activity: The Seaweed vs. Plant Comparison activity focuses on the ways in which seaweed anatomy and plant anatomy are similar and different.
‘Kelp’ Us Learn Video: Seaweed Biology featuring Jaclyn Robidoux (Maine Sea Grant)
Book Pages: 14-17
Special Thanks: Activity courtesy of BioMara
Section 5: Seaweed Ecology
About this Section: When we seaweed grows it forms part of a physical and biological environment known as an ecosystem. This section focuses on how seaweed fits into this environment, the organisms it interacts with, and the role it plays in the marine ecosystem.
Activity Name and Link: Kelp Forest Towers
About the Activity: The Kelp Forest Towers activity considers the concept of an ecosystem and examines the myriad factors that impact ecosystem health. Using an interactive, hands-on game students will explore how small changes can radiate through a larger system. They will also consider the roles humans can play to hurt or help ecosystem health.
*This activity aligns with the following NGSS standards:
- 5-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
‘Kelp’ Us Learn Video: Seaweed Ecology featuring Gretchen Grebe (Marine Biological Laboratory) and Maya Pelletier (Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center)
Book Pages: 18-21
Special Thanks: Activity courtesy of Maine Cooperative Extension: 4-H
Section 6: Let’s Eat Seaweed!
About this Section: Seaweed has been part of human diets around the world for thousands of years and provides an important source of nutrition to many people. The section explore the many ways we humans eat seaweed today, including ways we have had seaweed without even knowing it!
Activity Name and Link: Got Seaweed?
About the Activity: Got Seaweed? asks students to research foods they encounter regularly to determine if they contain seaweed and seaweed extracts.
‘Kelp’ Us Learn Video: Let’s Eat Seaweed! featuring Seraphina Erhart (Maine Coast Sea Vegetables)
Book Pages: 22-27
Special Thanks: Activity courtesy of Maine Cooperative Extension: 4-H
Section 7: Diversity in the Seaweed Industry
About this Section: People from all different backgrounds work with seaweed all around the world! In Maine, we have a diverse industry and a rich, working waterfront history that strengthens both our communities and the seaweed sector.
Activity Name and Link: Seaweed Celebrity
About the Activity: The Seaweed Celebrity game encourages students to consider a variety of careers in the seaweed industry from research to farming to product development while interacting with peers.
‘Kelp’ Us Learn Video: Seaweed is for Everyone, featuring Briana Warner (Atlantic Sea Farms) and David Black (Lobsterman)
Book Pages: 28-31
Special Thanks: Activity courtesy of Maine Cooperative Extension: 4-H
Section 8: Seaweed for Our Health
About this Section: Seaweed has many health benefits as a result of the micro and macronutrients in its tissue. This means that seaweeds are commonly used in natural remedies, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products.
Activity Name and Link: Seaweed Face Mask
About the Activity: By makeing the Seaweed Face Mask students are able to try out some of the benefits of seaweed themselves and create something they can take home to share with their family.
‘Kelp’ Us Learn Video: Seaweed for Our Health featuring Dulse and Rugosa
Book Pages: 32-33
Special Thanks: Activity courtesy of With a Little Kelp from Our Friends
Section 9: Seaweed, Shipping, and the Sea
About this Section: When you think of seaweed, what comes to mind first? Many people think of seaweed as a slimy, somewhat erie tendril lurking in the intertidal zone. However, it is important to consider the beauty of seaweed and the role it has played in our history. When we think about seaweed in new ways, we realized it isn’t actually scary at all!
Activity Name and Link: Intertidal Mural and associated coloring pages
About the Activity: In this creative activity making an Intertidal Mural, students learn more about Maine seaweeds and where they grow while contributing to a fun classroom visual.
*This activity aligns with the following NGSS standards:
- 5-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
‘Kelp’ Us Learn Video: Seaweed, Shipping, and the Sea featuring Cipperly Good (Penobscot Marine Museum)
Book Pages: 34-35
Section 10: (STILL IN THE HATCHERY)
About this Section: THIS SECTION IS STILL IN THE HATCHERY PHASE! When we finish the materials, they will be posted here. Check back regularly for updates.
Activity Name and Link:
About the Activity:
‘Kelp’ Us Learn Video:
Book Pages:
Special Thanks:
Section 11: Building a Seaweed World
About this Section: The idea of eating seaweed doesn’t appeal to everyone– afterall, seaweed can seem a bit slimy and salty. However, there are many people in the seaweed indrustry coming up with new and innovative ways to introduce seaweed to our lives, and not all of these ideas include making seaweed into food! Seaweed can also be used to make bioplastic, biofuel, textiles, and much more!
Activity Name and Link: Seaweed Products and Marketing
About the Activity: In the Seaweed Products and Marketing activity students get to try their hand at marketing seaweed products in a way that encourage other people to want to try them.
‘Kelp’ Us Learn Video: Building a Seaweed World featuring Rob Dumans (University of Maine) and Caitlin Hillery (UMaine)
Book Pages: 38-39
Special Thanks: Activity courtesy of Maine Agriculture in the Classroom (MAITC)
Section 12: Seaweed and Cows
About this Section: Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane in our atmosphere trap sunlight and cause the planet to get warmer. Ruminant animals, like cows– which are farmed for meat and dairy products– release a lot of methane into the atmosphere through their burps. Seaweed has chemical properties that can help reduce these harmful emissions when fed to cows.
Activity Name and Link: Greenhouse Effect
About the Activity: The Greenhouse Effect activity explores how changes in atmospheric gas composition impacts the amount of heat retained in that atmosphere.
*This activity aligns with the following NGSS standards:
- 5-ESS3-1. Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the earth’s resources and environment.
‘Kelp’ Us Learn Video: Get MOOtivated for Seaweed featuring Nichole Price (Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science)
Book Pages: 40-41
Special Thanks: Activity courtesy of NASA
Section 13: Seaweed, Ecosystem Services, and Climate Change
About this Section: We’ve talked a lot about the direct benefits that seaweed privides, but what about indirect benefits? Growing seaweed can have many positive impacts on the areas where it is grown, both for the environment and the surrounding communities. These benefits can be described as ‘ecosystem services’ or ‘positive externatities’ of seaweed farming.
Activity Name and Link: Go Fish for Seaweed
About the Activity: In the Go Fish for Seaweed activity students will learn to identify some Maine seaweeds then play an interactive game to reinforce this new knowledge.
‘Kelp’ Us Learn Video: Seaweed’s Helping Hand featuring Carrie Byron (University of New England) and Susie Arnold (Island Institute)
Book Pages: 42-51
Special Thanks: Activity courtesy of Maine Cooperative Extension: 4-H
Section 14: Seaweed Aquaculture
About this Section: Now that we’ve learned so much about the many ways seaweed can be used in the human and natural world, let’s talk about seaweed farming! Growing seaweed via aquaculture can support communities economically while also providing ecological benefits.
Activity Name and Link: Aquaculture Equipment
About the Activity: In the Aquaculture Equipment activity students explore the equipments need to construct a seaweed farm and successfully cultivate seaweed.
*This activity aligns with the following NGSS standards:
- 5-ESS3-1. Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.
‘Kelp’ Us Learn Video: Let’s Farm Seaweed featuring Morgan Fogg (Nautical Farms) and Jake Patryn (Nautical Farms)
Book Pages: 52-54
Special Thanks: Activity courtesy of Maine Agriculture in the Classroom (MAITC)
Section 15: Conclusion
About this Section: We hope this seaweed curriculum inspires you and helps you to bring the ocean into your classroom! We are so grateful for the work you do to educate Maine youth, and hope this curriculum is just the beginning of your marine adventure.
Activity Name and Link: Skills Inventory (Post-assessment)
About the Activity: The Skills Inventory (Post-Assessment) is a google form educators can use with their strudents as a post-assessment . It is designed to help educators evaluate and guage the amount of learning gained through the use of this seaweed curriculum.
‘Kelp’ Us Learn Video: Conclusion featuring Jaclyn Robidoux (Maine Sea Grant) and Maya Pelletier (Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center)
Book Pages: 56-57
