Free Everglades Explorer Course (K-8)

Lessons are available for grade K-8 and can be done at your own pace. Share photos of you doing the lessons by email to info@surfskatescience.com or tag us on social media to be entered to win a prize each month. Let's get started! (Click on arrows by each lesson to expand the content.)

Week 1 Lesson - Cypress Dome

Welcome to the Everglades. We will start by exploring this amazing resource. Follow along with Richard Kern from Odyssey Earth as he explores different habitats of the Everglades using a drone with a 360-degree camera.

Explore the 360-degree videos on habitats such as the Cypress Dome, Mangrove Swamp, Sawgrass Prairie, Seagrass Meadow, and more! Use your cursor to scroll up, down, and all around to view the habitats. You can use your computer, a smart phone, cardboard VR or VR Goggles to view. Local Students can "borrow" our VR glasses (limited quantity available - email info@surfskatescience.com) Each video comes with a field guide and scavenger hunt questions created by Odyssey Earth. You will use the Field Observation Datesheets to complete a digital field study of the habitats. This week we will explore the Cypress Dome. The cypress dome habitat is one of the most mysterious, fascinating and important habitats in the Everglades. If you’re up for some adventure and don’t mind getting a little muddy, a trip into a cypress dome is an experience you’ll never forget! First, download your 1st field guide here:

https://odysseyearth.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Cypress-Dome-field-guide.pdf

Cypress_Dome.pdf

Download PDF • 157KB

Then, watch the first video here: https://www.odysseyearth.com/videos/cypress-dome-360/ Finish the field guide and take a screen shot of your online quiz. Email these back to info@surfskatescience.com for credit toward your explorer certificate and for you chance to win a monthly prize.

Week 2 Lesson - Mangrove Fringe

Week 3 Lesson - River of Grass

Week 4 Lesson - Seagrass Beds

Week 5 Lesson - Florida’s Aquifers and Springs

Week 6 Lesson - Where Does Our Water Come From?

Week 7 Lesson - Backyard BioBlitz

Week 8 Lesson - Watershed

Week 9 Lesson - Animals in the Everglades

Week 10 Lesson - Airboats

Week 11 Lesson - Hidden Wild

Week 12 Lesson - Protecting our neighbors

Week 13 Lesson - Why it all matters

Week 14 Lesson - Becoming an advocate