by Jasmine Shaw
Perhaps you remember chemistry class in high school: atoms and molecules, covalent and ionic bonds, and all those colorful experiments and explosions. Perhaps, like Jasmine Shaw, 4-H program leader on the 4-H pH project, it led you down a path of majoring in chemistry at university. But now imagine trying to teach the concepts of acid/base chemistry and ocean acidification to elementary school-aged children.
The 4-H pH project was piloted in Sitka, Alaska, as an afterschool club from January to May of this year. Youth ages 5–12 used GLOBE program protocols to take measurements such as pH and dissolved oxygen in the ocean, observed the Sheet’ká Ḵwáan Tribe/Sitka Tribe of Alaska (STA) during their weekly collection of that same data, then used CODAP, an online data learning tool, to compare their observations to a 2022 NOAA OAP-funded ocean acidification survey in the region. In true 4-H fashion, activities were experiential and multi-disciplinary, and even included making sushi. The program activities were then reconfigured into a summer camp format and traveled to the communities of Aangóon (Angoon) and Séet Ká Kwáan (Petersburg) in July and August, respectively.
For many students, this was their first encounter with the pH scale. “What is ocean acidification?” was the most common question, especially from the 5-year olds, both at the start and end of the program, showing just how big of a concept it is to try to wrap the brain around at a young age. Many other questions were raised by students that fostered great discussion such as: “What will happen to marine life if there’s too much acid?” “What is a healthy level of acid in the ocean?” and “Will deeper water make a different pH?”
The goals of the 4-H pH program are now to synthesize the curriculum into something other science educators at the elementary school age level could replicate with their own students. As it turns out, it’s never too early to begin caring about your ocean.
4-H pH is an ocean education project led by personnel from three units at the University of Alaska Fairbanks: Jasmine Shaw, 4-H program leader (Cooperative Extension, Sitka Campus), Christina Buffington, Science Educator (Geophysical Institute), and Natalie Monacci, Principal Investigator (College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences). Funding and partnership is provided by the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program (OAP) and Simone Alin at the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, respectively.