Estuaries: Where Rivers Meet the Sea

This website is the educational site for NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS), managed and maintained by NERRS education staff. This site provides, primarily, an avenue for elementary, middle and high school students, and their teachers, to learn more about estuaries, research, and explore NOAA’s “living laboratories” - the National Estuarine Research Reserves. The Estuary Video Gallery offers a collection of short video clips. The main content themes include relationships between estuaries and humans, life in an estuary, impacts of society upon estuaries and current research and equipment used in monitoring estuaries in video format. Also included are E-Live Backpacks designed to extend and enhance specific Estuaries 101 High-School Curriculum activities by using video clips from our Video Gallery, and relating them to important estuary principles and concepts. Students are asked to review the materials in the E-Live Backpacks, to construct their own compelling questions, actively research those questions, and share their learning through final products. By going through these steps, you will lead students through a project-based learning experience. this site is also available in Spanish. Educational levels: Primary elementary, Intermediate elementary, Middle school, High school