Florida Keys Traveling Trunk Program

This program is designed to engage, teach, and stimulate students into thinking about the world of marine science and ocean conservation. Within each trunk you will find curriculum aligned with Florida's Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS) and all materials needed to facilitate lessons in class.

The traveling trunks are available free of charge for K-12 teachers to check out for a one-month period. Trunks must be picked up and returned by the borrower from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Office in Key Largo. You can find a summary of the traveling trunks that we have available below:

Diving Into Coral Reef Restoration

Program built on 4 lesson plans for 5th-8th graders that include hands-on activities and teaching materials. Students will explore coral biology, threats to coral reef ecosystems and learn about coral reef restoration in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Lessons align with state science standards and are designed to be taught over a roughly 3-week period.

Darker Skies, Darker Beaches

Program built on 4 lesson plans for 3-8th graders that include hands-on stations, interactive powerpoints, developing their own circuits, engineering their own lighting fixture, collecting simulated nesting data and much more. The trunk includes sea turtle skulls, circuit materials, mock wall fixtures with working lights, sample lighting fixtures and more. Lessons align with state science, math and ELA standards and are designed to be taught over a roughly 3-week period.

The Traveling Turtles of Florida and Darker Skies, Darker Beaches trunks were created by Inwater Research Group. NOAA's Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary supports the use of these trunks in the Florida Keys. This program was funded in part by the National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation.

For more information on reserving a traveling trunk please email floridakeys@noaa.gov.