COSEE: Central Gulf of Mexico (COSEE CGOM) offered many resources for science teachers during the ten years we were funded by the National Science Foundation. As part of our Teacher/Scientist Institute every summer, participants were asked to develop standards-based lesson plans that could be used to teach ocean science topics. We selected the best of the best of these resources and have provided them for you in a searchable database. We also suggest you check out the C•R•E•A•T•E for Mississippi lesson plan database which has additional resources that cover broader subjects and emphasize the use of technology in the classroom. You can also visit the Bridge, COSEE's partner for teacher-reviewed ocean education materials, professional development opportunities, and the latest news in K-12 ocean education.

If professional development was something you were looking for, COSEE CGOM offered you the opportunity to attend many types of institutes, programs and hands-on seminars. Our Teacher/Scientist Institute was held each summer, and allowed in-service and pre-service teachers of grades 4-12 to pair up with research scientists from across the Gulf of Mexico State region for a five-day in residence program that included lectures, discussion groups and field activities. The content focus was coastal processes, habitats and organisms, and marine technology. Following the face-to-face institute, teachers returned home and continue the program through our Online Institute for three weeks in July. This featured six additional ocean science lessons that built upon what was covered in the classroom.

If a summer institute was not your cup of tea, or if you were looking for additional opportunities, the COSEE CGOM also offered Two-Day Workshops that targeted specific ocean science topics. The goal of the programs were to provide formal and informal educators with the latest research on ocean observing systems and apex predators; grant opportunities to network with colleagues and scientists; and provide a forum for discussing ways to bridge the gap between scientists, policy makers and educational communities.

Finally, COSEE CGOM was proud to offer teachers the opportunity to join researchers and scientists on an actual ocean voyage aboard a research vessel though our Sea Scholars Program. Sea Scholars was organized around the notion that real-life oceanographic ship operations, problems and destinations present appropriate classroom topics which integrate all principal subjects.  The program connected the Navy's oceanographic fleet with classrooms around the country via emerging technology, including the World Wide Web (WWW) and satellite communications. Topics included: sea and seafaring, nautical skills, oceanography, geography, meteorology, marine biology, geology, communications, literature, the arts, and interdisciplinary studies of distant lands and peoples.