WaterWays - Sharks & Plastic

Meet a shark and help understand why they’re vomiting plastic by hypothesizing and observing just how the plastic made it into their stomach. Track the plastic through a storm happening in Chimha City, and learn more about the local ocean ecosystem! 

• Developed in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society, Hudson River Park and Mount Sinai's Transdisciplinary Center for Early Environmental Exposure, with funding support from the National Institutes of Health.

Sharks & Plastic includes:

• A personalized digital science journal and an augmented reality experience, accessible by phone or browser using webVR.
• 40 minutes of interactive activities where students are scientists engaged with water science and water stewardship.
• Assessment dashboard for educators to monitor and scaffold student learning

Next Generation Science Standards Alignment:

Science Engineering Practices:

• Developing and Using Models
• Analyzing and Interpreting Data
• Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
• Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information

Disciplinary Core Idea:

• LS1.A Structure and Function
• ETS1.B Designing Solutions to Engineering Problems
• ESS3.C Human Impacts on Earth Systems

Crosscutting Concepts:

• Systems and System Models
• Cause and Effect

Connections to Excellence in Environmental Education - Guidelines for Learning (K-12):

• Strand 1 (Analysis and Interpretation Skills): A, C, E, F, G
• Strand 2 (Environmental Processes and Systems): 2.1 A, B. 2.2 A. 2.3 A
• Strand 3 (Skills for Understanding and Addressing Environmental Issues): 3.1 A, B, C
• Strand 4 (Personal and Civic Responsibility): B, C