Ocean Exhibit WebQuest

Introduction

    Your class has entered a contest for the National Aquarium Outreach Program.  You are being asked to design a new exhibit that will teach small children about oceans and ocean life.  A representative from the Aquarium will be reviewing your exhibit and judging it on specific criteria to decide whether they will display your exhibit.
 

Task

    In order to make your exhibit authentic, you and the other marine biologists on your research team will need to gather data about your specific form of ocean life.  Once you have collected sufficient information, your team will share this information in various ways, writing to inform, as well as creating both a visual display and a computer generated slide show using Power Point.
 

Process

1.    Your research team will decide which form of ocean life you will represent in the exhibit.

2.    You will gather information about your animal on the organizer that your teacher gave you, using the Internet and off-line resources.

3.    You will write an informative report that will be included in the ocean life journal to be kept at the information desk of the Aquarium.

4.    You will create a visual display that will have a picture of your animal as well as other graphics representing important information about your animal.

5.    Using key facts from your research, you will design a computer generated slide show in Power Point which will give visitors an overview of your exhibit.

6.    In order to prepare for the judge's visit, you will create an invitation, asking other students to examine your exhibit.  After you have shared your project with them, the students will evaluate your exhibit using the Visitor Evaluation Form.  This process will help you make any necessary revisions prior to the judge's visit.
 
 

Resources
 

Ocean Biomes	General Resources	Off-line Resources
Oceanlink	Gander Academy	Non-fiction books
Ecosystems	Oceanography	Print Encyclopedias
Enchanted Learning	Smithsonian	Magazines
What is a biome	Vancouver Aquarium
	Oceans Alive
Animal Sites	Ocean Quest	Online Encyclopedias
Ocean Animals	Planet Ocean	Student Resources
Safari Touch Tank

Evaluation

    Your project will be scored by the following rubrics:  research report, graphic display, and Power Point.  Visitors will complete a Visitor Evaluation Form.  The judge will decide whether your exhibit is worthy of display at the National Aquarium.

Conclusion

    Now that you have researched ocean life to design an exhibit, you realize the many forms of life that depend upon the ocean habitat and how important it is to maintain that habitat.