The Oceanic Journeys Club will meet twice weekly on an ongoing basis. This social club will be a fun, educational, safe, and positive environment for lovers of the ocean and other underwater environments so they can learn and grow as a group of peers with similar interests. The Ocean is a vast, beautiful, and strange place, and this our opportunity to share our passion for a dimension that we know less about than the planet Mars!  

Every session will be an interactive multi-media exploration of a daily theme/concept. The class experience will be a mix between lecture, discussion, hands-on activities, group work, use of slide shows, readings from articles and books,  and video clips from documentaries.  I will also provide weekly recommendations on outside resources that will help students learn more and find opportunities to participate in challenges and citizen science projects. I will also provide weekly, voluntary, conservation, and citizen science challenges where they can learn about the ocean firsthand. 

There is an extensive database of resources contained in a secure Google Drive that can be accessed at any time. This resource contains books, audiobooks, lectures, articles, images, link databases, and even a spot to highlight student work. 

I encourage students to bring their own particular interests/questions to the group whether it be personal stories, books, articles, images, or anything else a student may want to teach/explore/question with the club. Participation and discussion are strongly encouraged and will help make our club an enriching and entertaining environment where we can be passionate about our curiosity.  The following is a more detailed look at the first seven weeks and the topics we will cover: 

Week 1 (July 25th-31st):  Strange & Dangerous Creatures of the Deep
Our first week will be a wondrous and creepy look at a variety of dangerous and/or strange organisms in the ocean, both large and small. 

Week 2 (Aug 1st - 7th): SCUBA Diving & Exploration
In our second week, we learn about the invention, and history of the SCUBA technology and how it is used today. We will also discuss the scientific understanding of how ocean water can have an effect on human anatomy and health. We will discuss the depth, pressure, and chemical properties of the body while it is in the ocean. 

Week 3 (Aug 8th - 14th): Shark Week 1 
Looks like we are gonna need a bigger class! One of everybody's favorite topics when it comes to the ocean is the might shark, so much so that we now have a cultural event know as "shark week". So, let's dive in and learn about the amazing diversity of sharks both freshwater and saltwater species. We will dispel myths, understand the danger to humans, how humans are a danger to sharks, and conservation efforts.  

Week 4 (Aug 15th - 21st): Underwater Geography
What's underneath the hundreds and thousands of miles of ocean across the planet? How deep does it get? Does it have mountains, canyons, caves, volcanoes? We will answer these questions and so much more including the nature of currents, and tides as well as a look at the chemistry of water itself. For instance, we will look at the differences between freshwater, saltwater, brackish water, hard water, mineral water, and many other types of H2O

Week  5 (Aug 22nd-28th): Coral Reefs
Coral is a beautiful, mysterious, and extremely endangered organism. They are unlike any other animal on Earth and we learn why and they operate on a biological level.  Also, we will study the scientists and conservationists that are saving the coral from extinction. 

Week 6 (Aug 29th - Sept 4th): Underwater Bases and Houses 
A history of bases, houses, and other underwater constructions. Another thing we will explore are tunnels running underneath the oceans for cables, and trains. 

Week 7 (Sept 5th - 12th): Deep Ocean Mysteries  
We know more about our next-door neighbor, the planet Mars than we do about our own ocean here on planet earth! So, as a result, there are nearly endless mysteries to be solved in the deep, dark water of the oceans. So join us as we try to uncover the secrets of these mysteries.  

Forthcoming sessions: 

Week 8:  Challenger Deep
Week 9: Shark Week 2
Week 10: Cephalopods 
Week 11: Southern Ocean
Week 12: Shipwrecks
Week 13: Ocean Mythology & Folklore
Week 14: Evolution of the Ocean
Week 15: All About Boats 
Week 16: Indian Ocean
Week 17: Bioluminescent Ocean Organisms 
Week 18: Pacific Ocean 
Week 19: Pirates New & Old
Week 20: Atlantic Ocean