Remote Learning Resources

 

As oysters continue to grow in New York Harbor, students across NYC (and beyond) can continue to learn! We’re here to help educators and parents lead STEM lessons at home. Check back weekly for new content.

 
 

Curriculum

Ecosystem Engineers Curriculum (Grades 4-10)

We are thrilled to share 5 units of STEM learning thanks to support from Con Edison. To get started with at-home activities, view our Oyster Anatomy video, and an introduction from our Director of Education Ann Fraioli.

Oyster Dory Construction Manual

Ready to build a paper dory? Flip to page 78 of our open-source Construction Manual & Teaching Guide, featuring lots of boat- and harbor-related activities. If you have access to a printer we recommend printing on the largest, thickest piece of paper you’ve got. Last year, students from Sunset Park built their own wooden dory, which they named Guacamole!

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Billion Oyster Project Beta Platform

For more math, science and social studies lessons, check out BOP’s platform. We look forward to launching a brand new platform soon, but have plenty of activities for you to explore in the meantime! Have questions? Reach out to us at educate@nyharbor.org.


Activities

New York Harbor Coloring Pages

Learn about some of the most common marine species discovered near Billion Oyster Project oyster reefs by coloring them. From the infamous oyster toadfish to intricate colonial tunicates, you can print the following pages and get started today! Don’t have access to a printer? That’s ok! Try drawing these creatures on paper.

QUIZ: Oyster, Organism & Water Quality

Dissolved oxygen and salinity might be second nature to Harbor School students, but its the perfect time for the rest of us to test our knowledge of our natural environment! Check out our new quiz, created by Diana and Robina from our education team.

Story Hour with Billion Oyster Project

Join Diana Fu as she reads Down To The Sea with Mr. Magee by Chris Van Dusen (and permission from Chronicle Books).

 

Video by Agata Poniatowski, Education Outreach Coordinator

Create a Salt Dough Fish

It's easy to learn about fish when they're right in front of you, but many of us are stuck inside. Did you know you can make your own fish out of a few basic household ingredients? Feel free to reference this guide to decide which underwater creature.

Video by Diana Fu, Field Science Education Specialist

Do-It-Yourself Hydrometer

A hydrometer is an instrument used for measuring the density of liquids based on the concept of buoyancy. Here’s how you can make one at home!

Video by Ann Fraioli, Director of Education

Design & Engineering Challenge

Turn to page 17 of our Ecosystem Engineers Curriculum to participate in an at-home engineering challenge to keep your oyster (in this case, an egg) safe! Share your design on social media by tagging #BOPeducation.

 

Video by Diana Fu, Field Education Specialist

How to Make a Anemometer

An anemometer is a device used for measuring wind speed and direction. It is also a common instrument used by weather stations. The term is derived from the Greek word "anemos", which means wind. Here’s how you can make an Anemometer at home!

Video by Agata Poniatowski, Education Outreach Coordinator

Oyster Anatomy

Unit 1 of our Ecosystem Engineers curriculum includes the dissection of an oyster. Join us as we examine how oysters eat algae, filter water, and protect themselves.

Video by Agata Poniatowski, Education Outreach Coordinator

Make your own Oyster Research Station

With Earth Day right around the corner, we wanted to combine our love for Oyster Research Stations (ORS) with awareness around single-use plastics. Build your very own ORS using the materials you might find in your recycling bin.

 

Video by Rob Buchanan, Field Technician & Boatbuilder

Build a Paper Dory

Join Rob Buchanan, and his daughter Claire, in building a paper oyster dory. Before you play this video tutorial, please print this PDF on the largest, thickest piece of paper your printer can handle.

 

Resources

Oyster Gardening Manual for Schools and Community Scientists

Read up on New York Harbor’s history, the Billion Oyster Project, and the 5 stages of the BOP Lifecycle in this oyster gardening guide, created in partnership with the Harbor School, SCAPE Studio and NY/NJ Baykeeper.

 
 
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Know Your Harbor

Know Your Harbor: Bushwick Inlet

Most New Yorkers forget that we are a coastal community. New York Harbor is an incredible resource not far from our doorstep. Join Billion Oyster Project’s Rob Buchanan as we takes a trip to Bushwick Inlet — just off of the East River between Williamsburg and Greenpoint.

Know Your Harbor: Bayswater

On Monday, July 20, an all-women crew from Billion Oyster Project, Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, and New York State Parks, installed BOP’s first community oyster reef at Bayswater Point State Park, in Queens! Video by Robina Taliaferrow.

Know Your Harbor: Canarsie

Join members of Billion Oyster Project's education and restoration teams as they monitor oyster growth and mortality, and take note of the diverse marine wildlife living near this oyster reef at Paerdegat Basin in Canarsie, Brooklyn. Video by Robina Taliaferrow.

 

Know Your Harbor: Coney Island Creek

When you think of Coney Island do you think of parks, waterways and biodiversity? At Billion Oyster Project, we hope you do! Tanasia Swift, Billion Oyster Project’s Community Reefs Regional Manager, recently put together an introduction to Coney Island Creek so you can get to know this amazing estuary.

Know Your Harbor: Lemon Creek

Along the southern shore of Staten Island there is a lovely New York City park known as Lemon Creek. The brackish water of a local lagoon offers a quiet spot to monitor large oysters growing inside of Billion Oyster Project reef bags. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look of this reef. Video by Robina Taliaferrow.

 
 
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Fishy Friday

Striped Bass

Take a look at the size of these striped bass swimming underneath Billion Oyster Project EcoDock on Governors Island. Striped bass can grow up to 5 feet long and can weigh up to 77 pounds.

Oyster Larvae

These oysters, spawned by students in the Harbor School hatchery, are just a few weeks old. Once oyster larvae permanently attache to a hard substrate, like a recycled shell, we refer to them as “spat on shell”.

Comb Jelly

Ready to dive underneath our EcoDock at Pier 101 on Governors Island? Our Community Reefs Regional Manager Tanasia Swift captured this epic footage of a Comb Jelly last summer.

 

Butterfly Fish

This beautiful Butterfly fish was spotted by student divers under our EcoDock at Pier 101 on Governors Island. It’s not uncommon to see tropical fish, swept up from the Caribbean by the Gulf Stream, in New York waters in late summer and early fall.

 
 
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BOP at Work

Bush Terminal Park

Underwater footage at our community reef in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, captured by Tanasia, Community Reefs Regional Manager at Billion Oyster Project.

Video by Agata Poniatowski, Education Outreach Coordinator

Monitoring an Oyster Research Station

You may have seen this picture of aqua ropes featured in the New York Times last week. At the end of each rope is an Oyster Research Station (ORS). To kick off Earth Week, Agata wants to show you how schools and scientists monitor these oyster homes. 

Constructing Oyster Homes

Check out this welding demonstration by Mark Kimmey, a volunteer welder for Billon Oyster Project, as he creates a gabion (structure for housing oysters).



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Our Story

Learn about how the Billion Oyster Project got started.