We’re excited to have you explore the 76,000+ acres of diverse ecosystems at the GTM Research Reserve! Our team has curated a range of educational activities designed to enrich your experience as you journey through the Reserve. These activities offer a blend of history, science, and nature, allowing you to learn about the unique habitats and wildlife around you. Whether you’re visiting with friends, family, or on a solo adventure, these resources will help you connect deeply with the land, both on-site and from home. Dive in, explore, and enjoy your discovery journey!
We’re excited to have you explore the 76,000+ acres of diverse ecosystems at the GTM Research Reserve! Our team has curated a range of educational activities designed to enrich your experience as you journey through the Reserve. These activities offer a blend of history, science, and nature, allowing you to learn about the unique habitats and wildlife around you. Whether you’re visiting with friends, family, or on a solo adventure, these resources will help you connect deeply with the land, both on-site and from home. Dive in, explore, and enjoy your discovery journey!
Resources to Use at the Reserve
Resources to Use at the Reserve
- Learn about the Reserve's rich history.
- Explore the unique ecosystems of the Reserve.
- Engage with interactive nature guides.
- Discover local wildlife and habitats.
- Participate in a guided trail adventure.
- Enjoy fun, educational activities at home or on-site.
Explore & Learn at GTM Reserve
The GTM Research Reserve offers trail guides, scavenger hunts, and interactive lessons to enrich your visit or home learning, exploring local wildlife, habitats, and conservation.
Explore & Learn at GTM Reserve
The GTM Research Reserve offers trail guides, scavenger hunts, and interactive lessons to enrich your visit or home learning, exploring local wildlife, habitats, and conservation.
Explore Our Resources
These guides offer the public the opportunity to explore our habitats, identify organisms, and visit cultural sites with the help of visual aids. They can be used with or without the accompaniment of a GTM Research Reserve staff member or volunteer.
- Self-Guided Yellow Trail Guide
- Nature Guide (web version) – This document is only intended for identifying organisms.
- Nature Guide (printable version)
- Nature Guide Scavenger Hunt – This document pairs as an activity to be completed while using the Nature Guide.
Quizizz Scavenger Hunts – We suggest participating in these scavenger hunts onsite in the Exhibit Hall. Please ask our Front Desk staff for assistance with WiFi.
How to use Quizizz:
- Make sure you are connected to the Guest WiFi.
- Select a Quizizz link below, then select “Practice” and “Play Quiz”.
- Select “Play Live”. You will be directed to either sign-up through Google or by email, or skip for now.
- You can choose to play solo, play with friends, or use the flashcard version of the game.
K-4th Grade Exhibit Hall Quizizz Scavenger Hunt – This interactive scavenger hunt is made for K-4th grade students and will prompt visitors to fully explore the exhibits located in the GTM Research Reserve’s Visitor Center. From sharks teeth to live snakes and turtles, explore the Exhibit Hall to see what you can find!
5th-8th Grade Exhibit Hall Quizizz Scavenger Hunt This interactive scavenger hunt is made for 5th-8th grade students and will prompt visitors to fully explore the exhibits located in the GTM Research Reserve’s Visitor Center. From sharks teeth to live snakes and turtles, explore the Exhibit Hall
Marine Debris Clean-up: Marine debris is human produced trash that ends up in or near bodies of water. It can cause many issues including ingestion, entanglement, habitat damage, and even the introduction of invasive and non-native species.
How can you help? You can conduct your own marine debris cleanup on the beach to help the environment. Print your own materials and gather your own equipment or contact the GTM Research Reserve’s education department ([email protected]; 904-823-2292) to borrow ours. Please take one more helpful step and enter the data for the trash you collected into the apps listed below. This helps scientists communicate to decision makers important information such as the need for specific types of trash receptacles or the need for public information campaigns.
Marine Debris Cleanup Resources
- Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup®
- CleanSwell App
- Marine Debris Cleanup
- Remember to use safety equipment when handling marine debris
- Beach Scavenger Hunt – Use this resource to find interesting treasures on the beach.
DEP Kid Zone Learn something new about Florida’s environment. Coloring pages, story maps and other activities invite learners of all ages to explore the land, the waterways, and the plants and animals in Florida and beyond.
NOAA’s Estuary Education On this site, educators and estuary enthusiasts will find a variety of resources, including specially developed activities, animations, videos, teacher training workshops, real-time data, and opportunities to volunteer at a local reserve. This information will help educators share the wonders of estuaries with students and others.
NOAA’s NOS Education Building ocean, coastal, and climate literacy for students and educators.
UF FL IFAS Bite Sized Science The Bite-Sized Science webinar series is presented by UF/IFAS Extension Florida Sea Grant agents. Each webinar will start at 4 p.m. EST. These webinars will consist of 30-minute presentations, but presenters will stay longer to answer questions as needed.
Smithsonian Learning Lab Support deep, meaningful learning with an online universe of authentic resources and tools for making them your own.
Explore Your Local Ecosystem Get outside and explore your local ecosystem. This activity can be adapted to any habitat found near GTM or your own home. Students will become explorers, investigating the habitats of plants and animals. Students will understand the differences between environments and habitats, while recognizing the importance of the connections between plants and animals in these ecosystems.
Marine Creatures Measurements Whoa, Picasso! Students will tap into their creative abilities while understanding the size differences between the animals of their choosing. Students will compare and contrast adaptations found in these animals. This is a great introduction lesson on why humans categorize animals into different groups.
Bountiful Birds Estuaries are a rich source of food for a wide variety of birds. Students will understand why beak adaptations help birds thrive in different estuary habitats. This hands-on activity will help students learn about the rich biodiversity in bird populations around the GTMNERR.
Migrations Scrapbooks This week-long activity dedicates at least one hour per day for students to learn about animal migrations through a creative process. Students will write and animate a migration story that follows a different theme every day.
Fish Morphology This lesson and activity allow students to learn about the adaptations and behaviors of different species of fish. After building their own fish, students will explain why it has the adaptations they chose.
Global Climate Change and Sea Level Rise In this lesson, students plan, carry out, and interpret results of a scientific investigation. Students will learn why melting land ice causes sea levels to rise, but melting sea ice does not.
Mystery Marsh Water GTM In this lesson, students plan, carry out, and interpret results of a scientific investigation. In this hands-on activity, students explore density (mass per unit volume) of several different salt solutions.
Shark Adaptations Activity – This lesson discusses the adaptations found in sharks that make them so unique. Use the Accompanying PDF Guide to complete the lesson.
Explore Our Resources
These guides offer the public the opportunity to explore our habitats, identify organisms, and visit cultural sites with the help of visual aids. They can be used with or without the accompaniment of a GTM Research Reserve staff member or volunteer.
- Self-Guided Yellow Trail Guide
- Nature Guide (web version) – This document is only intended for identifying organisms.
- Nature Guide (printable version)
- Nature Guide Scavenger Hunt – This document pairs as an activity to be completed while using the Nature Guide.
Quizizz Scavenger Hunts – We suggest participating in these scavenger hunts onsite in the Exhibit Hall. Please ask our Front Desk staff for assistance with WiFi.
How to use Quizizz:
- Make sure you are connected to the Guest WiFi.
- Select a Quizizz link below, then select “Practice” and “Play Quiz”.
- Select “Play Live”. You will be directed to either sign-up through Google or by email, or skip for now.
- You can choose to play solo, play with friends, or use the flashcard version of the game.
K-4th Grade Exhibit Hall Quizizz Scavenger Hunt – This interactive scavenger hunt is made for K-4th grade students and will prompt visitors to fully explore the exhibits located in the GTM Research Reserve’s Visitor Center. From sharks teeth to live snakes and turtles, explore the Exhibit Hall to see what you can find!
5th-8th Grade Exhibit Hall Quizizz Scavenger Hunt This interactive scavenger hunt is made for 5th-8th grade students and will prompt visitors to fully explore the exhibits located in the GTM Research Reserve’s Visitor Center. From sharks teeth to live snakes and turtles, explore the Exhibit Hall
Marine Debris Clean-up: Marine debris is human produced trash that ends up in or near bodies of water. It can cause many issues including ingestion, entanglement, habitat damage, and even the introduction of invasive and non-native species.
How can you help? You can conduct your own marine debris cleanup on the beach to help the environment. Print your own materials and gather your own equipment or contact the GTM Research Reserve’s education department ([email protected]; 904-823-2292) to borrow ours. Please take one more helpful step and enter the data for the trash you collected into the apps listed below. This helps scientists communicate to decision makers important information such as the need for specific types of trash receptacles or the need for public information campaigns.
Marine Debris Cleanup Resources
- Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup®
- CleanSwell App
- Marine Debris Cleanup
- Remember to use safety equipment when handling marine debris
- Beach Scavenger Hunt – Use this resource to find interesting treasures on the beach.
DEP Kid Zone Learn something new about Florida’s environment. Coloring pages, story maps and other activities invite learners of all ages to explore the land, the waterways, and the plants and animals in Florida and beyond.
NOAA’s Estuary Education On this site, educators and estuary enthusiasts will find a variety of resources, including specially developed activities, animations, videos, teacher training workshops, real-time data, and opportunities to volunteer at a local reserve. This information will help educators share the wonders of estuaries with students and others.
NOAA’s NOS Education Building ocean, coastal, and climate literacy for students and educators.
UF FL IFAS Bite Sized Science The Bite-Sized Science webinar series is presented by UF/IFAS Extension Florida Sea Grant agents. Each webinar will start at 4 p.m. EST. These webinars will consist of 30-minute presentations, but presenters will stay longer to answer questions as needed.
Smithsonian Learning Lab Support deep, meaningful learning with an online universe of authentic resources and tools for making them your own.
Explore Your Local Ecosystem Get outside and explore your local ecosystem. This activity can be adapted to any habitat found near GTM or your own home. Students will become explorers, investigating the habitats of plants and animals. Students will understand the differences between environments and habitats, while recognizing the importance of the connections between plants and animals in these ecosystems.
Marine Creatures Measurements Whoa, Picasso! Students will tap into their creative abilities while understanding the size differences between the animals of their choosing. Students will compare and contrast adaptations found in these animals. This is a great introduction lesson on why humans categorize animals into different groups.
Bountiful Birds Estuaries are a rich source of food for a wide variety of birds. Students will understand why beak adaptations help birds thrive in different estuary habitats. This hands-on activity will help students learn about the rich biodiversity in bird populations around the GTMNERR.
Migrations Scrapbooks This week-long activity dedicates at least one hour per day for students to learn about animal migrations through a creative process. Students will write and animate a migration story that follows a different theme every day.
Fish Morphology This lesson and activity allow students to learn about the adaptations and behaviors of different species of fish. After building their own fish, students will explain why it has the adaptations they chose.
Global Climate Change and Sea Level Rise In this lesson, students plan, carry out, and interpret results of a scientific investigation. Students will learn why melting land ice causes sea levels to rise, but melting sea ice does not.
Mystery Marsh Water GTM In this lesson, students plan, carry out, and interpret results of a scientific investigation. In this hands-on activity, students explore density (mass per unit volume) of several different salt solutions.
Shark Adaptations Activity – This lesson discusses the adaptations found in sharks that make them so unique. Use the Accompanying PDF Guide to complete the lesson.
