MAY 19, 2017--On May 17, staff from the NOAA Marine Debris Program presented marine debris education topics to the entire third grade of North Chevy Chase Elementary School in Chevy Chase, MD.

Approximately 100 third graders learned about the local and global impacts of many types of marine debris. As a hands-on way to understand how marine debris impacts animals, the students formed teams and pretended to be sea turtles eating in the open ocean. Each team was given a plate of rice and lentils, where the rice symbolized good food for the turtle and the lentils were plastic floating in the ocean. Students then used a spoon to gather as much rice and as few lentils as possible during the timed event. This activity demonstrated the difficulty animals face as they discern nourishing food from dangerous marine debris. Students were then challenged to come up with actions that they could take to remove and prevent marine debris in their own backyards, ultimately reducing the amount of marine debris in our world’s ocean.

For additional information, contact Krista.E.Stegemann@noaa.gov or Jason.Rolfe@noaa.gov.

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