Getting Out of My Comfort Zone

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Saskia is a student at the University of Bremen, Germany, doing her master’s degree in International Studies in Aquatic Tropical Ecology (ISATEC). As part of her research, Saskia spent several months working on her master’s thesis in Jamaica, studying the …

No More Disappearing Acts

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Throughout our international student art contest called the Science Without Borders® Challenge, I have the pleasure of communicating with participants, teachers, and parents from all around the world. Numerous individuals express gratitude for the contest and share how it has increased ocean …

Little Creatures with a Big Message: An Educator’s Guide

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Lately, you have been hearing from our partners at the University of Miami (UM) about their experiences processing and picking tiny foraminifera from sand samples that we collected on the Global Reef Expedition (GRE). As our colleagues continue to process the large quantity (2,500) of sand samples, we are creating an educator’s guide called “Little Creatures with a Big Message.”

Together, the University of Miami and the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation received a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to utilize microscopic organisms, called foraminifera (‘forams’ for short), to assess the state of coral reefs over the past 1,000 years, and potentially create new metrics that can be used to assess reef health.

NSF recognizes that a critical component to any research project is how it can benefit society. This is what NSF defines as the “Broader Impacts.” As a part of this grant, we will deliver on the broader impacts portion of the grant to educate and communicate this science to others. One of the ways will do this is by creating curriculum that improves STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education and increases participation of minorities in STEM.

Last chance to apply to our student art competition, the Science Without Borders® Challenge!

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There is still time to participate in our international student art competition, the Science Without Borders® Challenge!

The Challenge is an annual art competition that engages students to promote the need to preserve, protect, and restore the world’s oceans and aquatic resources. The contest is free to enter and open to middle and high school students 11-19 years old. Be sure to submit your artwork by March 6 for a chance to win up to $500 in prizes!

This year the Science Without Borders® Challenge theme is “The Sixth Extinction.” Human actions have negatively impacted the environment in many ways, which have led to an increased rate of extinction and many more endangered species. For this year’s contest, we are asking students to create a piece of artwork that highlights the beauty and importance of a marine species that is on the brink of extinction.

ANNOUNCING 2022 SCIENCE WITHOUT BORDERS® CHALLENGE SEMI-FINALISTS – AGES 11-14

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Recently, we announced the semi-finalists of the 2022 Science Without Borders® Challenge for students participating in the 15-19 year-old category. Today, we are overjoyed to announce the semi-finalists for younger students who are 11-14 years of age.

This international student art contest engages students in important marine science and conservation issues through art. The theme of this year’s challenge is “Ridge to Reef,” and students were asked to illustrate one or more actions that governments, non-profits, park managers, and indigenous communities can take to preserve coral reefs using a ridge to reef approach to conservation. They did not disappoint.

Once again, our judges were put to the test to make some incredibly difficult decisions evaluating the almost 300 pieces of artwork entered in this category. They came to a consensus to include 35 of these entries as semi-finalists. Like with the older semi-finalists group, students used a variety of styles, techniques, and media to portray the theme. Overall, students in this category ranged from 10 different countries.

We would now like to invite you to meet our 11-14 year old semi-finalists: