Science
Activities:
1. Have the students complete the turtle hatchling maze, which appears in
this section.
2. Obtain a description of the "Turtle Hurdles" activity from
Project Aquatic Wild, for the students to participate in. Write to Project
Wild, P.O. Box 18060, Boulder, Colorado 80308. This is a fun outdoor activity.
3. Using information from the readings in this workbook, have the students
estimate the total number of eggs laid by one female loggerhead during her
lifetime. Take into account the average life span (50 years) minus the years
before sexual maturity (20), the size of each clutch of eggs, the average
number of nests per season, and the frequency of their reproductive cycle
(biennial). Considering the number of eggs laid over a lifetime (more than
7,000), ask the students to account for why loggerheads (and other sea turtles)
are considered to be an endangered species.
Geography
Objective:
1. To enable the students to identify and map the ranges of loggerhead nesting
areas, and to locate the Sargasso Sea where the hatchlings spend the first
few years of their lives.
Activity:
1. Using information from the readings, an atlas, and blank copies of maps
of the Atlantic Ocean, have the students label the regions where loggerhead
sea turtles are known to nest.
2. On the same map have students identify the region in the Atlantic Ocean
known as the Sargasso Sea. Currents in the Atlantic Ocean carry young turtles
born in Georgia all the way around the Sargasso Sea. Have students locate
the British Isles, the Azores, the Canary Islands, Puerto Rico, Cuba and
the Virgin Islands. Mark these islands on a map of the North Atlantic Ocean.
Math
Objective:
1. To compare a sea turtle's weight with that of a student.
Activity:
1. Have the students weigh themselves individually (at home or bring a scale
to class). Ask them to determine the average weight of their class members.
Have them determine how many students it would take to balance a scale with
the largest recorded leatherback sea turtle (2,019 pounds, or 878 kilograms).
This may be extended by having them convert from pounds to kilograms.