Overview

This program teaches students about the impacts lighting can have on sea turtle nesting. Students learn all about the biology of Florida’s nesting sea turtles, forms of energy, lighting interactions with matter (reflection, refraction, absorption), what makes a circuit, conductors, insulators, and how to create sea turtle-friendly lighting.

Lessons & Standards

Lessons

Lesson 1: Introduction to Sea Turtles (45-60 mins)

Lesson 1: Turtley Awesome!

Groups of students explore 5 stations to learn about the biology and behaviors of Florida’s nesting sea turtle species. They apply new knowledge by creating an infographic on their preferred species.

Lesson 2: Incredible Energy (60 – 120 mins)

Students are introduced to the forms of energy, properties of light, and electrical circuits. They periodically break out into groups to run active knowledge checks and by the end, build an electrical circuit.

Lesson 3: Fix-a-fixture (60 – 120 mins)

Teams of students follow the Engineering Design Process to build a sea turtle-friendly light fixture prototype for a beachfront property. They will act out a commercial and compete to get the most points as the most sea turtle-friendly light fixture.

Lesson 4: Dig in the Dark (60 – 75 mins)

Students hypothesize the level of turtle-friendly or unfriendliness for a series of light fixtures and test their hypotheses by correlating each one to simulated nesting scenarios. They survey their own school’s lighting quality and can write persuasive letters advocating for turtle-friendly options.

Standards

Grade 3: SC.3.N.1.1, SC.3.N.1.2, SC.3.N.1.3, SC.3.N.1.4, SC.3.N.1.5, SC.3.N.1.6, SC.3.N.1.7, SC.3.N.3.2, SC.3.P.10.1, SC.3.P.10.2, SC.3.P.10.3, SC.3.P.10.4, SC.3.P.11.1

Grade 4: SC.4.N.1.1, SC.4.N.1.2, SC.4.N.1.3, SC.4.N.1.4, SC.4.N.1.5, SC.4.N.1.6, SC.4.N.1.7, SC.4.L.16.3, SC.4.N.3.1, SC.4.L.17.4, SC.4.P.10.1, SC.4.P.10.2, SC.4.P.11.2

Grade 5: SC.5.L.17.1, SC.5.P.10.1, SC.5.P.10.4, SC.5.P.11.1, SC.5.P.11.2, SC.5.N.1.1, SC.5.N.1.5, SC.5.N.1.6

Grade 6: SC.6.N.1.1, SC.6.N.1.4, SC.6.N.1.5, SC.6.N.2.2, SC.6.P.13.1, SC.6.N.3.4

Grade 7: SC.7.N.1.1, SC.7.N.1.3, SC.7.N.1.4, SC.7.N.1.5, SC.7.N.3.2, SC.7.P.10.2, SC.7.P.11.2

Grade 8: SC.8.N.1.1, SC.8.N.1.6, SC.8.N.3.1, SC.8.N.4.1, SC.8.P.8.4

Trunk At-A-Glance

This unique program includes:

  • Curriculum binder and USB flash drive with multimedia resources
  • Soft and straight measuring tapes
  • 1 turtle model with anatomy labels
  • 3 skull replicas and food items
  • Light-matter interaction testing kits
  • Circuit building kits (with insulators and conductors)
  • Circuit walls 
  • Consumables to prototype a turtle-friendly light fixture 
  • Real light fixture board 
  • Turtle-friendly light testers
  • Lesson posters
  • Informational booklets

Please note that the trunk measures 37” W X 23” H X 23.1” D and can weigh up to 73 lbs. This is something you’ll have to take into consideration as you’ll need the capacity to transport it if borrowing it from a partner that requires you to pick up and drop off.

Request A Trunk

Teachers in both public and private schools can request to borrow a trunk, free of cost, from one of the Traveling Trunk partner network members in your district. The process is easy!

  1. Find a Partner
     Use the interactive map below to locate a Traveling Trunk partner in your area. Click a pin to view contact information, service area, and eligible audiences. Some partners can only serve educators within public, charter schools, or specific grade bands.
  2. Request a Trunk
     Contact your local partner to request a trunk loan. Be sure to include your name, school, public or private status, grades taught, number of students, and preferred loan dates.
     Note: Classroom-specific trunks are not available for outreach or pay-to-play events.
  3. Confirm Logistics
     Watch for a confirmation email outlining availability and whether the trunk will be delivered or require pickup and return. Logistics vary by partner.
  4. Implement the trunk
    Set time to prep, set up your classroom for each given activity, and make copies as needed. Follow the instructions inside the trunk to facilitate the lessons. 

As shared resources, all trunks must be inventoried before and after use, and any lost or damaged items should be reported immediately. If missing consumables, ask the lending organization for more as they should have back ups available at all times.

A note on care: Take special care of the model, skull replicas, circuitry items, and storage conditions (store trunks in a cool place, away from sun exposure). 

  1. Share feedback, inventory, and return

Follow the terms agreed upon with the lending organization. Please inventory and report any lost or damaged items during your loan period.

Fill out the teacher feedback form and consider sending us footage of the trunk in action to education@inwater.org to compete for quarterly perks and prizes.

Don’t see this program in your region? Consider partnering with Inwater Research Group to get and manage your own! For more information, contact Rebecca Mott (rmott@inwater.org) and our K-12 Program Coordinator, Claire Sullivan (csullivan@inwater.org).