MAY 12, 2017--For NOAA Kid’s Day on Thursday April 27th, the Office of Response and Restoration led an activity for 10-12 year old students.

Three groups, ~60 students total, participated in the activity that included a lesson on waste management using an interactive, team-building game. The lesson, ‘What Goes Around Comes Around’, is part of a larger Integrated Arts Marine Debris Curriculum developed by the Washed Ashore program in Bandon, Oregon.

The game highlighted for students a cycle that most of us engage in on a daily basis - acquiring more things and then throwing them ‘away’. The goal was to have the students clean up their side of the room, imagining that it is their own home or bedroom. The students started by throwing trash over a barrier in the middle of the room, but soon realized that the other team was doing the same thing and no side was truly getting rid of their trash. The team building began when students were encouraged to strategize, with the goal they would conclude that the only way to get their side clean was to bag up and hold onto their the trash. Once they realized this strategy, the students had a conversation about how everyone can make more responsible and sustainable decisions as consumers to reduce the amount of waste they produce and are responsible for disposing of properly. This activity was a unique way to show students how they are part of this constant cycle and encouraged them to make different choices to change how that cycle impacts our planet.

For additional information, contact Amanda.Laverty@noaa.gov.

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