Virtual Lesson Series
As part of our Marine Science for All Initiative, Reef Relief offers free virtual marine science lessons held via zoom to the public several times each month throughout the school year. These lessons are ideal for individuals, homeschoolers, homeschool groups, and smaller groups, but are open to classrooms and larger groups as well. These lessons are approximately 1 hour live.
If you have 10+ students in your group, you are eligible to request a free private lesson taught by a Reef Relief educator. Please see our Discover Coral Reefs School Program page for more details.
GET NOTIFIED: Join the mailing list to be notified when registration opens for the 2026-2027 school year.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How Do I Register?
Once the lesson schedule has been created for the school year, the schedule and registration links for each session will be posted to this webpage. New this year: you will register for each session separately via zoom registration link, and will be sent meeting access information in your registration confirmation email after submitting.
What is the format of these lessons/what can I expect when I attend?
Lessons are designed to be ~1 hour in length. They are lecture style lessons with a PowerPoint presentation and a live Q&A at the end. All participants will be unable to unmute themselves or turn on their video, and will be able to chat only the session host. This is designed to limit distractions for other participants during the lesson. The host will be asking participants questions during the lesson and running polls for engagement, and participants may message the session host with any questions they have about the lesson that will be answered at the end of the session.
What ages are these lessons designed for?
We have students of all ages join these lessons. They are taught loosely at an upper elementary level, but as they are introductory lessons to many fun topics, there is something for everyone to enjoy in each lesson! Due to the more technical nature of certain subject material, indicated lessons are suggested for learners at an upper elementary learning level or higher.
We’ve participated in this program in past years, will anything be new this year?
Yes! New this year we will be substituting four of our previous lesson topics with new ones. The topics that will be repeated are still updated each year to reflect the most up to date information.
If you’d like to access the lessons that were offered previously but not this year, we have created recorded versions of each of our standard classroom lesson topics, and they are available for purchase for $7 each in our Lesson Library. These are not raw recordings of the public lessons held via zoom, but separately recorded and edited versions of these lesson topics. To purchase a lesson, please visit our storefront linked here. Reef Relief members receive 20% off this resource.
Do you record these lessons?
Participation in live lessons and follow along worksheets are available to everyone free of charge. Recordings of these sessions and full activity packets (see below) will be made available Reef Relief Members.
Are these lessons interactive?
We aim to keep our lessons engaging while limiting distractions. Participants will be muted and video off during the lessons but will be able to chat directly with the session hosts to answer and ask questions throughout the lessons. Interactive tools such as polls will also be utilized during the lesson.
Do I need to prepare my student(s) for these classes?
No, these lessons are all introductory topics so there is no need to do any preparatory work beforehand.
Is there supplemental material available for these lessons?
Follow Along Worksheets– are provided for free for each lesson topic. There may be one or two versions (lower/upper level) depending on the nature of the lesson’s content. “Lower Level” is structured at a roughly 4-5th grade level and “Upper Level” is structured for middle-high school learners.
Full Activity Packets– include helpful links to expand upon what is taught in the lesson, follow along worksheets, and additional worksheets and/or activities. This resource will be available to Reef Relief Members.
Other Free Materials: In 2020 Reef Relief created a series of public lessons via Facebook live paired with worksheets and study guides for each lesson. These resources are still available for use on our YouTube Channel and blog in the ‘Kids & Education’ section. There is overlap of this content with the lessons in the Virtual Lesson Series where you may find these materials useful to supplement these lessons.
If you are interested in more in depth coursework in a wider range of learning levels separate from these public lessons, we have 8 self paced units on a variety of marine science topics available for purchase for $20/unit. These units are packed with hours of recorded lessons, interviews with scientists, virtual field trips, experiments, worksheets, quizzes, and other hands-on activities. You can learn more by visiting our Virtual Marine Science Classroom Webpage. Reef Relief members receive 20% off this resource.
Please note the Virtual Marine Science Classroom is a separate resource, unrelated to these free live virtual public lessons.
Do I need to pay for these lessons?
All live lessons are provided free of charge to increase accessibility of marine science education as part of our Marine Science for All initiative. However, any donations that are able to be made directly support our programming and are greatly appreciated. An amount of even $5 allows us to continue providing free educational resources such as these, and can be made by clicking the button below.
Still have questions? Send us an email at [email protected] and a member of our Education Team will respond to you ASAP.
Testimonials
“I found Reef Relief while searching for supplemental materials for our homeschool curriculum. After our first zoom lesson, we have been hooked! The instructor presents information in a way that is clear and accessible to her audience. Each session is a wealth of information, and there is always time for questions at the end. As someone who is on a fixed income, I appreciate that Reef Relief offers quality education videos and materials for no or low cost. I am thankful to have Reef Relief as a partner in education.”
~Jennifer (Homeschool Parent), Maryland, USA
“This program has been great for my kids! They keep them involved with questions throughout the lesson. They have learned so much with the lessons so far and look forward to them each month. I love how each one ends with how to help and conservation! It really gets them thinking about how much can effect the environment around them. I’m so glad we found this program!!“
~Laura (Parent), Arizona, USA
“Excellent programs that are exciting and informative. My child always enjoys attending these virtual classes. These classes being free allows families on a tight budget to enhance their child’s learning journey. I highly recommend these programs to all students.”
~Jennifer (Homeschool Parent), La Ciotat France
I watched along with my 2nd grade homeschooled granddaughter, and we really enjoyed it. The material was well written to reach a wide age group, as they discussed some information that was a bit over her head (perfect for older elementary), but then came back to points she could pick up on and easily engaged. The speaker was informative and enjoyable to listen to. The pictures, videos, and polls with questions were perfect for the discussion and fun to see/do. I may be 57 but I learned quite a few things as well. Thank you!
~Homeschool Grandparent, Pennsylvania, USA
“Our 7-year-old daughter loves the virtual lessons from Reef Relief! As a homeschooling family, we’re always looking for engaging, educational programs that truly spark curiosity and these lessons do exactly that. The instructors make learning about coral reefs and marine conservation interactive, fun, and age-appropriate, while still being incredibly informative. The virtual format is convenient and well-organized, and it fits seamlessly into our homeschooling routine. We’ve seen our daughter become more excited about ocean science and more aware of environment since joining the virtual lessons. We’re so grateful to have access to such a high-quality resource. Reef Relief’s virtual lessons have been a wonderful complement to our homeschool curriculum, and we highly recommend them to other families! We only wish they had more each month!”
~Emily (Homeschool Parent), Envigado, Colombia
“The Reef Relief Virtual Lesson series has been an extremely valuable and helpful addition to our homeschool curriculum. My daughter has been interested in the field of marine biology for a couple of school years and these lessons have only deepened that interest and greatly increased her excitement and commitment to the study and conservation of all marine life. These lessons are engaging as well as educational. She comes away with pages of notes she took from each lesson and excitedly shares what she has learned with everyone who will listen. We strongly recommend Reef Relief Virtual Lessons to all of our friends – even those who work as teachers in the public education field. Thank you for the time and effort that you put into these lessons. Your passion and knowledge are evident and appreciated”
~Kiersten (Homeschool Parent), Colorado, USA