Leatherback Sea School

Sea Turtles 101:SWOT Report—The State of the World's Sea Turtles — Don't miss this excellent primer in sea turtles and sea turtle science around the world.

The Official Great Turtle Race Educational Resources
A two-week, easy-to-implement set of curricula for various grades created specifically for the Great Turtle Race
Grade levels: K–12
Language: English

Earth Day Science Symposium: Endangered Sea Turtles
This classroom activity by Earth’s Birthday Project focuses on data analysis, mapping and graphing, and oral presentation. The seven classroom sessions measure student achievement across applied math and science benchmarks.
Grade levels: Middle school
Language: English

underwater leatherback turtle

La Vida de la Tortuga
This hour-long activity uses data to teach students about green sea turtles and other endangered species and about how humans threaten and help them. Created by the Bridge and Grupo Tortuguero.
Grade levels: 3–6
Languages: English and Spanish

FUN FACT:It is the largest sea turtle and the largest reptile on Earth today by weight – usually between 1400 and 1600 pounds. Its shell length is up to eight feet long.

Sea Turtle Science
This resource offers an hour-long activity—"Survivor! A Loggerhead Hatching”—in which students explore the life stages of loggerhead turtles using actual scientific data. Created by The Bridge, it correlates to the National Science Education standards.
Grade levels: Middle school, high school
Language: English

underwater leatherback turtle Caribbean Conservation Corporation's Educational Materials
These include a teacher's guide and activities for kids, such as online quizzes, puzzles, printable coloring books, crosswords and more.
Grade levels: K-12
Languages: English and Spanish

FUN FACT:Instead of having a hard shell on its back like other turtles, the leatherback has rubbery skin that is sort of flexible and leathery which allows for deep diving.

SEA TURTLE BLOGS

Mr. Leatherback—A fun-loving sea turtle who travels the world to educate kids and adults about how their behavior affects him and his kin. You can share your thoughts with Mr. Leatherback, too!

Bullis Charter School—Sixth grade students and their teachers sponsor a turtle in the Great Turtle Race, blog their turtle’s progress and share stories of their recent trip to Playa Grande, Costa Rica, where the leatherbacks nest.

Drexel University—Graduate students working to study and save leatherbacks blog the Drexel turtle's progress and share stories of their encounters with the turtles on Playa Grande this past season.

Ask Dr. Turtle—Dr. Jim Spotila, Drexel University professor and president of The Leatherback Trust, answers questions about leatherbacks and the Race. A world-renowned leatherback expert, Dr. Spotila is author of the award-winning book Sea Turtles: A complete Guide to Their Biology, Behavior and Conservation.

Ocean Revolution - J. Nichols is a marine biologist with a fondness for sea turtles of all kinds. He's sharing The Great Turtle Race widely as he travels the world and uses his blog to describe his experiences.

FUN FACT:Of all the sea turtles, the leatherback travels the farthest, dives the deepest, and goes into the coldest waters.

SEA TURTLE BOOKS

	Sea Turtles: A Complete Guide to Their Biology, Behavior, and Conservation (Hardcover) by James R. Spotila (Author)
	Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of the Earth's Last Dinosaur (Hardcover) by Carl Safina (Author)