Discover Coral Reefs School Program
The Discover Coral Reefs School Program is presented to students in Pre-K-12th grades. Classes are available to public schools, private schools, and homeschool groups, and are offered virtually (worldwide) or in person (throughout Monroe County, FL and selectively in South Florida). Lessons cover various marine science topics and consist of a live presentation, optional activities to further student knowledge on the subject, and a live Q&A session with one of Reef Relief’s experienced educators. Classroom lessons are designed to support current curriculum and satisfy Florida State Standards and continually expand to suit the needs of each class. Interested teachers can decide the topic or lesson type they would like to have for their class, and sessions can be scheduled throughout the school year, with the option to participate in multiple days of lessons so students may learn about different marine science topics. There is no cost to participate in this program. Since 2012, this program has reached over 100,000 students. For more information please see below, or email [email protected].
This resource is available for groups of 10+ students. If you have less than 10 students, please see our Virtual Lesson Series.
Click here to request a free visit during the 2025-2026 school year!
Lesson requests are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the school year.
Click the flyers below to see the Florida State Standards covered in each topic.
Check out these posts from the program!
Reef Relief is proud to announce a milestone achievement of 100,000 students reached in our Discover Coral Reefs School Program since 2012! A program that began on a smaller scale at our local Monroe County District Schools has expanded in recent years to teach not only in person in South Florida but virtually worldwide. During these years our Education Team, lesson catalogue, and educational programs & resources have expanded to provide a wide variety of learning opportunities for our participants.
Our in person programs are not only lessons taught in the classroom, but immersive experiences that bring our students to make personal connections with their environment such as glass bottom boat tours in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and excursions to local State Parks to explore the marine environment like Fort Zachary Taylor, Bahia Honda, and John Pennekamp as well as the Dry Tortugas National Park. Since 2020, the virtual component of this program has reached all 50 US States, 44 Countries and 11 Territories around the world.
Our Discover Coral Reefs School Program is provided FREE of charge to schools and educators wishing to participate because we believe marine science education should be accessible to all. We want to send a big thank you to our Education Team, past and present, for their dedication and hard work making this program such a success, and thank YOU for your support of Reef Relief’s programs and mission, making experiences like this possible for children worldwide!
Our Education Team is hard at work! They visited the students at Grace Lutheran School- Key West to teach them all about our oceans
The middle school students, participants in our New Wave Program, had their third lesson this school year, Fish Anatomy and ID, and watched a live fish dissection. These students were able to learn all about the internal and external anatomy of fish, how different body features can be used to identify fish and make them adapted to their environment/way of life, and see their anatomy first hand!
Our team also stopped by to see their elementary students! VPK learned the basics on the lives of corals and sharks, Kindergarten through second grade took a deeper dive into sharks lifestyles and their importance to ocean health, while 4th and 5th grade learned about the beautiful marine ecosystems we call home here in the Florida Keys.
Although most of our in-person programming happens in Monroe County, FL, our education team makes an effort to also visit schools on the mainland each year whenever possible. Recently our educators went to Florida City to teach the 2nd-7th grade students at Advanced Achievers Academy all about the importance of Coral Reefs! 🪸
Our education team continues their great work this year! They recently spent a full week seeing the elementary students at Poinciana Elementary. During this week the 5th Graders learned about Shark Biology & Conservation as their second lesson in our Currents & Creatures Program, paired with our shark jaw identification activity. The other grades K-4 covered several other topics including Sea Turtles with a create your own sea turtle craft, Marine Megafauna with artifact show & tell, Intro to Coral with a coral polyp craft and coral skeleton show & tell, and Marine Ecosystems of the Florida Keys with our ecosystem chain activity.
Our educators visited the first graders at Sigsbee Charter School to teach them all about the importance of our marine ecosystems here in the Florida Keys. They learned what makes up each ecosystem, who lives there, why they are important, they threats they face, and how we can protect them.
We are excited to announce our newest education program, Currents & Creatures! Take a look at what the 5th graders at Poinciana Elementary and Gerald Adams Elementary Schools are learning this year! 🦑🦈🐋
Our education team has been very busy so far during the 2025-26 school year. Our Discover Coral Reefs School Program has already seen over 3,000 students in the first two months of the school year! Take a look to see what our educators have been up to.
The winners of our Discover Coral Reefs Middle School Program for the 2024-25 school year who had the highest increase in quiz scores goes to Basilica St. Mary Star of the Sea! These students received an overall 42% increase in quiz scores between the pre and post test taken during the school year. The average increase between all 7 participating schools was 27%. Reef Relief uses this testing method to gauge whether their curriculum is effective and providing students with life changing knowledge. By seeing these score increases, we are proving that curriculum we provide is not only informative but enduring.
To celebrate the end of their school year, students from Horace O’Bryant School joined Reef Relief educators for an exciting field trip to the Dry Tortugas National Park. This adventure served as the final experience in our Discover Coral Reefs Middle School program, designed to bring classroom learning to life through real-world exploration.
Throughout the year, students have been learning about marine ecosystems and conservation with Reef Relief during in-person lessons. This trip gave them the opportunity to see those concepts in action. At Dry Tortugas, they explored the historic Fort Jefferson and participated in a guided snorkel and swim led by our team. While in the water, students encountered archaeological remnants, snappers, Christmas tree worms, and beautiful coral heads—an incredible way to connect with the marine environment they’ve studied.
Had a blast with Sugarloaf Middle School at Bahia Honda State Park doing our Snorkel School! 🤿 We practiced using our snorkel, mask, and fins at the beautiful seagrass beds. Then they had free swim at the beach. 🏝️During our snorkel, we saw boxfish, butterflyfish, conch, sponges, coral, and a flying gurnard. These students are prepping to come with us to the Dry Tortugas National Park for their end-of-the-year field trip as a part of our Discover Coral Reefs Middle School Program. 🪸 They have had several lessons about our oceans, and now it’s time to experience them!
Reef Relief educators took the students from Gerald Adams Elementary School through practicing their snorkeling skills! This snorkel test was in preparation for our spring field trip to The Dry Tortugas National Park. All school year students have been learning all about the ocean and how to save it.
Reef Relief teamed up with the FKNMS Eco Discovery Center to welcome the Lower Keys Homeschool Group! Students explored the Mysteries of the Deep Sea, crafting their own deep-sea anglerfish and discovering why red light is the first to vanish underwater. It was a fantastic experience inspiring the next generation in marine conservation!
Our educators took the fifth graders of Key Largo School aboard the glass bottom boat at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park Concession! We could not have asked for better conditions, calm seas and clear visibility allowed us to see numerous fish, sea turtles, and even a shark!
Testimonials
“Reef Relief is a vital resource to not only my fifth grade students at GAE, but to their community as well. Their education program provides our students with exciting, hands-on experiences that connect what they learn in the classroom to the unique environment around them. Because of Reef Relief’s efforts, every year my students get to learn about the importance of protecting the reef, its biodiversity and the surrounding ecosystem. Reef Relief helps us become better stewards to our environment. We LOVE Reef Relief!“
~Ms. Boyle, 5th Grade Science Teacher, Gerald Adams Elementary – Monroe County School District (In Person Participant)
“My students loved the presentation on Sea Turtles. Our presenter was well versed in her content and presented the information in a manner that our 5th Graders easily understood. The presentation flowed well and students were able to clearly see the presentation and interact with our presenter virtually. Students were excited and engaged the entire presentation!” ~Natalie Kotz, 5th Grade, South Hills Elementary, Texas (Virtual Participant)
“Reef Relief is an amazing way to bring science alive for students and expose them to fascinating information in a real world context. Through the virtual program, my students were able to feel like they were part of the coral reef from over 1,000 miles away!” ~Bethany Wuelfing, 5th Grade, Tantasqua Regional School District Massachusetts (Virtual Participant)
“Reef Relief has been an excellent support to Grace Lutheran School. Their educators have provided lessons to students from 3 years old to 8th grade. Instructors do an excellent job bringing the lessons to life and relating the information to our locale. Thank you, Reef Relief!”~Amy Donaldson, Principal, Grace Lutheran School, Monroe county, FL (In Person Participant)
All lessons are provided free of charge to increase accessibility of marine science education as part of Reef Relief’s Marine Science for All initiative. Any donations that are able to be made directly support our programming and are greatly appreciated.
Support Our Initiatives
Your support allows us to educate the public and protect the Coral Reef Ecosystems for future generations.
The Discover Coral Reefs School Program is funded in part from the following support:
