FREE MarineLab programs
for Monroe County students
MarineLab loves being part of the Florida Keys Community and recognizes the importance of educating our local students about the environment surrounding the Keys. Multiple non-profit organizations up and down the Keys provide marine education programs as part of their mission, and Monroe County teachers also utilize the location of their schools to teach about marine science on their own campuses.
So what makes us different? MarineLab takes these students out on boats to explore the undersea world. They’re not just going snorkeling, they’re being led by trained staff in a guided discovery process that supports state and national science standards, in a part of the Keys that provides easy and equal access to the mangroves, seagrass, and coral reef communities that make up our near coastal waters.
An ongoing grant from the Ocean Reef Conservation Association has funded 5th & 7th grade field trips for Upper Keys schools for several years. MarineLab provides the instructional time for these programs at no cost.
In 2022, Leadership Monroe County’s Class XXIX stepped up and created their Saltwater Superheroes Fund to provide matching funds to MarineLab’s internal support, so our programs are now FREE for Monroe County students!
Call our MarineLab Coordinator at 305-451-1139 option 1 or email coordinator@marinelab.org to discuss dates and availability.
Programs do not include lunch; students should bring lunch from home.
Snorkeling programs include all snorkeling gear and wetsuits if needed.
All programs are subject to weather and group size considerations.
Scroll down to see some programs that will fit in a school day, or click here for a pdf. You can also choose your programs from our variety of snorkeling and non-snorkeling activities! Interested in an overnight program? Just ask us!
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Invertebrate Explorations
This non-snorkeling program includes our Invertebrate Diversity lab, where students learn about what lives on an algae covered rock, followed by a boat tour of Florida Bay. with hands-on investigation of mangrove invertebrates collected by our instructors.
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Mangrove Madness
The best way to see our underwater world is to get in it, of course! A snorkeling lesson is followed by a snorkeling tour of the mangroves fringing Florida Bay. Instructors collect marine invertebrates for hands-on investigation back on the boat.
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Rodriguez Key Ecotone
Rodriguez Key’s Goniolithon flats are full of invertebrates! After the snorkeling lesson, we hop on the boat to go out and see amazing marine animals like coralline algae, pen shells, and other unique animals that live in this border zone between the mangroves and seagrass communities.
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Coral Reef Celebration
The coral reefs get the most attention yet they make up only about 3% of the marine ecosystem around the Keys. Students get to see this unique and rare community up close with their mask and snorkel. Snorkeling lesson included before the boat trip.