Explore awards

Use the filter menu and interactive map to explore the past competitions offered and grants awarded through the Environmental Literacy Program.

To learn more about project findings and outcomes, view the summaries of our grantees’ summative evaluation reports.

Exploring Inner Space: Linking Aquariums with Ocean Scientists

Funding: $1,799,964
Year: 2009
This program is a pilot project and collaborative effort to develop partnerships and educational programming using state of the art technology. The project partnership is comprised of a leading ocean science research and education institution, the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography and its new state of the art Inner Space Center (ISC), and two strong national ocean science education networks: the National Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) Network and NOAA's Office of Exploration and Research (NOAA-OER) Education Alliance.

This program is a pilot project and collaborative effort to develop partnerships and educational programming using state of the art technology. The project partnership is comprised of a leading ocean science research and education institution, the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography and its new state of the art Inner Space Center (ISC), and two strong national ocean science education networks: the National Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) Network and NOAA's Office of Exploration and Research (NOAA-OER) Education Alliance. In addition, two partner sites will serve as proof of concept sites and education hubs - Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration (CT) and South Carolina Aquarium (SC), both affiliated with COSEE, the Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center Network (CELC), and NOAA-OER. Through this initiative, the ISC will install new Exploration Command Stations (ECSs) and enhance Ocean Today kiosks at the partner sites, strategically selected aquariums. Through this pilot project, the ECSs and kiosks (modeled after the original Ocean Today kiosk in the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History’s Sant Ocean Hall) will form an Ocean Interpretive Station at the partner sites. The ISC will provide live links from the Center's facilities to the newly installed ECSs and kiosks using feeds from various remote Ocean Exploration platforms, including the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer and the exploration vessel, E/V Nautilus. The project's Content Development Team (CDT) will develop associated educational materials for use in public programs at the partner sites.

Award Number: NA09SEC4690043
Grant Dates: 12/31/2009 to 12/30/2014
PI: Dwight Coleman
State: Connecticut   County:   New London District: CT02
Partners: Oregon State University (OSU) / Hatfield Marine Science Center · Seward Association for the Advancement of Marine Science / Alaska SeaLife Center · Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center (CELC) Network · Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) · University of Rhode Island (URI) / Inner Space Center (ISC) · South Carolina Aquarium ·

Sound Resilience-Get on Board!

Funding: $484,955
Year: 2016
The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is located at the mouth of the Norwalk River where it flows into Long Island Sound. Its mission is to inspire people to appreciate and protect the Sound and the global environment. As global climate change increases, extreme storms and sea levels continue to rise and a growing percentage of the 23 million people living within 50 miles of the Sound are directly affected by severe weather events, providing a timely opportunity to educate students, teachers, and the public about community resilience.

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is located at the mouth of the Norwalk River where it flows into Long Island Sound. Its mission is to inspire people to appreciate and protect the Sound and the global environment. As global climate change increases, extreme storms and sea levels continue to rise and a growing percentage of the 23 million people living within 50 miles of the Sound are directly affected by severe weather events, providing a timely opportunity to educate students, teachers, and the public about community resilience. From 2017-2020, the Aquarium developed and delivered an innovative three-session climate resilience education program to more than 2,000 middle and high school students in Fairfield County, Connecticut. The Sound Resilience student experience began in the classroom, where students learned about the impacts of hurricanes and coastal storms on their communities and used a hands-on “beach in a box” to model the effectiveness of built structures like seawalls and natural resilience features including salt marshes and oyster reefs. Then, during a two-hour research cruise on the Aquarium’s hybrid-electric research vessel, Spirit of the Sound, students collaborated to map their home coastlines from the water: identifying vulnerable locations from apartment buildings to power plants, as well as the existing resilience structures protecting their coast. On the vessel they also stepped into the role of climate scientists, conducting real-time weather and water sampling, including collecting and examining photosynthetic plankton that absorb carbon and help to slow down the effects of climate change. The third program session, back in the classroom, sent students on a design and decision-making journey, in which they compared their collaboratively created resilience map with flood-risk maps of their hometown, then worked together to identify gaps in resilience infrastructure and design a resilience plan for their community. As a result of Sound Resilience – Get on Board!, there were significant gains in students’ understanding of resilience science and their own sense of agency in creating a resilient future for their communities. Participants also reported deeper understanding of, and connection to, the Sound’s coastal ecosystems, which serve to buffer storm waves, sequester carbon, and protect communities from extreme weather and climate change. The Aquarium also developed and delivered a teacher professional development workshop focusing on effective and standards-aligned methods of teaching climate change, resilience, and environmental justice issues. Finally, an interactive experience was created for guests in one of the Aquarium’s most highly trafficked spaces. It includes a series of twenty-foot map projections of Long Island Sound showing present and future vulnerabilities and resilience methods, as well as a touch-screen kiosk where guests can interact with NOAA resources showing the risks that floods and sea level rise pose to their home communities. Although the grant period has ended, the resources created thanks to NOAA’s Environmental Literacy Program will live on. The guest experience on the Aquarium floor will continue for the foreseeable future and the student programs—in-person as well as virtual—and teacher workshops will remain available within the Aquarium’s program catalog.

Award Number: NA16SEC0080005
Grant Dates: 10/01/2016 to 09/30/2020
PI: Thomas Naiman
State: Connecticut   County:   Fairfield District: CT04
Partners: NOAA Office for Coastal Management (OCM) · National Sea Grant College Program / University of Connecticut · University of Connecticut / Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) · Western Connecticut Council of Governments (WestCOG) · Stamford Public Schools · Bridgeport Public Schools · City of Bridgeport · Norwalk Fire Department · City of Stamford · Fairfield Fire Department · Norwalk River Watershed Initiative (NRWI) · National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) / Northeast Fisheries Science Center · Norwalk Public Schools · State of Connecticut / Department of Economic and Community Development ·

Ocean Interpretive Stations: A Pilot Program for Coastal America Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers

Funding: $443,671
Year: 2007
This project creates a pilot program to deliver ocean literacy learning opportunities to 7 million people across the country through installation of dynamic Ocean Interpretive Stations at five Coastal America Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers: the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA; the J.L.Scott Marine Education Center in Ocean Springs, MS; the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, IL; the National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD; and the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Dubuque, IA.

This project creates a pilot program to deliver ocean literacy learning opportunities to 7 million people across the country through installation of dynamic Ocean Interpretive Stations at five Coastal America Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers: the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA; the J.L.Scott Marine Education Center in Ocean Springs, MS; the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, IL; the National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD; and the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Dubuque, IA. These Interpretive Stations present vital messages of ocean literacy to the broad public using and expanding on a proven product in a free choice learning environment in four key sites across the country. The pilot kiosks provide the regional stories of Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic, the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River watershed and the Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific. The Ocean Interpretive Stations enhance ocean literacy among museum goers through multimedia offerings, providing current, newsworthy and foundational ocean topics to encourage visitor learning. The project has the potential to be disseminated to 18 other Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers throughout the United States, with the possibility of reaching over 25 million visitors. The project outcomes are: Increased awareness of ocean issues on the part of visitors; increased knowledge of regional ocean issues; increased capacity of sites to provide additional resources to teachers in the four regions; and encouragement of additional partnerships in the future.

Award Number: NA07SEC4690005
Grant Dates: 10/01/2007 to 09/30/2011
PI: Jerry Enzler
State: Iowa   County:   Dubuque District: IA02
Partners: Aquarium of the Pacific · John G. Shedd Aquarium / Shedd Aquarium · National Association for Interpretation (NAI) ·

Promoting Environmental Literacy through Teacher Professional Development Workshops and Climate Change Student Summits (C2S2)

Funding: $696,672
Year: 2009
This project will provide K-12 teacher professional development and focused student activities to promote environmental literacy using the essential principles of ocean and climate literacy.

This project will provide K-12 teacher professional development and focused student activities to promote environmental literacy using the essential principles of ocean and climate literacy. In partnerships with NOAA entities, school districts, and museums across the United States, we will provide: (1) high-energy face-to-face professional development workshops for teachers, facilitated by experienced educators; (2) ongoing support and interactions among teachers and students through an online collaborative website, or group-hub; and, (3) high-profile, focused events in which students interact with scientists and the public to share what they've learned, both locally and internationally. The primary goal of this project is to increase the environmental literacy of K-12 teachers and their students from school districts that are part of existing science museum networks. Each summer, we will work with 4 to 6 partner museums to invite 30 to 40 teachers from their local school districts to take part in a pair of workshops.

Award Number: NA09SEC4690009
Grant Dates: 09/01/2009 to 12/30/2013
PI: Frank Rack
State: Nebraska   County:   Lancaster District: NE01
Partners: Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) Chicago · Technical Education Research Centers / TERC · Birch Aquarium at Scripps · California State University at San Marcos · Virginia Tech / College of Agriculture and Life Sciences · Grossmont College · Hardin Public Schools 17-H&1 · Little Big Horn College · Oak Park Unified School District · Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium · San Diego Unified School District · Anchorage School District (ASD) · Bureau of Land Management (BLM) / Campbell Creek Science Center · Carteret County Public School System · Montana State University / Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences (LRES) · North Carolina Maritime Museum · Northern Illinois University / Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences · University of Alaska (UA-Anchorage)/ Department of Biological Sciences · University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) · University of Alaska (UA-Fairbanks) · University of California at Santa Barbara · University of Michigan / Museum of Natural History · University of Michigan / Museum of Natural History · University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) / Institute of Marine Science · University of Washington (UW) / School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (SAFS) · Virginia Tech / Biocomplexity Institute · University of Michigan / Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences ·

Climate Youth Labs (CY-Labs): Elevating Youth Voices to Promote Climate Resiliency

Funding: $499,853
Year: 2023
Minnesota and Wisconsin communities are facing multiple climate hazards including wildfires, drought, pollution, severe storms, flooding, health emergencies, and habitat and species loss. Climate Youth Labs (CY-Labs) is designed to build youth participation in local and state climate resiliency efforts.

Minnesota and Wisconsin communities are facing multiple climate hazards including wildfires, drought, pollution, severe storms, flooding, health emergencies, and habitat and species loss. Climate Youth Labs (CY-Labs) is designed to build youth participation in local and state climate resiliency efforts. The goal is to support place-based climate change learning for youth (ages 11 to 15) who are Black, Indigenous, or from underserved populations, providing them with critical knowledge and experiences needed to ensure the resiliency of their communities in the face of climate hazards, and sharing their stories of discovery and action through public media podcasts. Educators will learn to use NOAA educational resources including Climate.gov, Teaching Climate, the Global Climate Dashboard, Climate Explorer and the U.S Climate Resilience Toolkit to help youth learn about climate change. Educators will help youth ensure the resiliency and protection of their communities in the face of climate hazards, create meaningful change within their communities, and advocate for climate resiliency solutions aligned with state resiliency plans. CY-Labs draws on recent research that shows that effective climate change education programs are personally relevant, encourage discussion to navigate controversial issues, engage in the scientific process, address misconceptions, and incorporate youth action projects. At the annual Youth Climate Justice Summit in St. Paul, MN and at Superior Days in Madison, WI students will share their solutions with state legislators. CY-Labs is a partnership between the University of Wisconsin-Superior (UWS) Center for Continuing Education, UWS Department of Communicating Arts, the University of Minnesota’s Hennepin County 4-H program in Minneapolis, Native Sun’s Solar Cub program in the Red Lake Nation, and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.

Award Number: NA23SEC0080011
Grant Dates: 10/01/2023 to 09/30/2025
PI: Kathryn Guimond
State: Wisconsin   County:   Douglas District: WI07
Partners:

Educational Applications of the National Maritime Center Science on a Sphere

Funding: $298,134
Year: 2005
This project is developing and implementing a strong environmental literacy and science education program to accompany NOAA's Science on a Sphere® (SOS) at The National Maritime Center's Nauticus museum. The program will use the SOS as a focal point to support learning about global oceanic and atmospheric circulations and their effect on local environments. The team is creating real-time global displays of environmental phenomena for the SOS from the expansive University of Wisconsin environmental satellite database.

This project is developing and implementing a strong environmental literacy and science education program to accompany NOAA's Science on a Sphere® (SOS) at The National Maritime Center's Nauticus museum. The program will use the SOS as a focal point to support learning about global oceanic and atmospheric circulations and their effect on local environments. The team is creating real-time global displays of environmental phenomena for the SOS from the expansive University of Wisconsin environmental satellite database. Computer visualization systems and user-driven interactive displays will allow viewers to move from global scale to regional and local scale in order to explore specific features of the phenomena being visualized and to understand them in greater detail. The displays will be integrated with high quality education materials that are aligned with national standards and specifically address the NOAA Education Strategic Plan. The teaming of the University of Wisconsin, Hampton University, and the National Maritime Center offers the opportunity to expose students from ethnic minority groups to various NOAA career paths and help produce graduates with solid technical backgrounds.

Award Number: NA05SEC4691010
Grant Dates: 10/01/2005 to 09/30/2009
PI: Steven Ackerman
State: Wisconsin   County:   Dane District: WI02
Partners: Bishop Museum · Hampton University · Hampton University · National Maritime Center (TNMC) Nauticus Museum ·

Interpretation of Real-Time Weather and Climate Data for Spherical Displays

Funding: $1,001,637
Year: 2010
The Interpretation of Real-time Weather and Climate for Spherical Displays (EarthNow) project utilizes the Science on a Sphere (SOS) Network to enable meaningful interpretation of real-time weather and climate data by museum docents and visitors viewing SOS exhibits nationwide. The project will generate and provide real-time NOAA weather, climate and ocean data to the SOS Network along with appropriate training for docents. It will also provide data interpretation summaries, data discussions and concise talking points on a regularly updated blog.

The Interpretation of Real-time Weather and Climate for Spherical Displays (EarthNow) project utilizes the Science on a Sphere (SOS) Network to enable meaningful interpretation of real-time weather and climate data by museum docents and visitors viewing SOS exhibits nationwide. The project will generate and provide real-time NOAA weather, climate and ocean data to the SOS Network along with appropriate training for docents. It will also provide data interpretation summaries, data discussions and concise talking points on a regularly updated blog. This project is being implemented by a collaborative team of two weather and climate centers of NOAA/NESDIS: the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) and Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites (CICS), in association with the NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory, the I.M. Systems Group, and the Maryland Science Center.

Award Number: NA10SEC0080015
Grant Dates: 11/01/2010 to 10/31/2016
PI: Steven Ackerman
State: Wisconsin   County:   Dane District: WI02
Partners: Maryland Science Center · Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) Chicago · University of Maryland / Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites (CICS-M) · NASA Goddard Space Flight Center · Buttonwood Park Zoological Society · National Maritime Center (TNMC) Nauticus Museum · Aldo Leopold Nature Center · Grand Canyon Visitor Center · Space Foundation · NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) / Climate Prediction Center · NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory · University of Maryland / Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC) ·