Virtual Learning Experiences

Introduction to the Great Barrier Reef

Interact with marine experts from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority as they discuss, with the aid of recorded video and images, the Great Barrier Reef and coral reef ecosystems.

Learn about corals as the building blocks of the Reef and the role that various organisms play within the Reef community from detrital feeders and herbivorous grazers through to predators. Gain an understanding of the importance of various symbiotic relationships between organisms such as corals and their symbiotic algae, and anemones and anemonefish. Learn about the main threats facing the Great Barrier Reef and explore the simple actions and behaviours that can be adopted by everyone, regardless of where they live in the world, to help protect the Great Barrier Reef and the animals that call it home.

Australian Curriculum Links:

Turtle Connections

Gain an understanding of the biology and adaptations of sea turtles, including their life cycles, breeding migrations, and feeding adaptations. Using case studies from the Reef HQ Aquarium Turtle Hospital, we will examine the impacts of marine debris and look at how sea turtles are affected by other human threats worldwide and what actions are being taken to help protect sea turtle populations.

Australian Curriculum Links:

Creatures and their features

Discover a range of iconic, peculiar and commonly found marine animals on the Great Barrier Reef. Learn how to group these animals using the similarities and differences in their external features, and gain an understanding of how scales, shells and gills help animals survive in the marine environment.

Find out how different animals in the same group have specialised adaptations for communication, feeding and defence. For example, in some species of crustaceans, the first pairs of walking legs have evolved to become nippers, while in other species the legs have become clubs or spears!

Australian Curriculum Links:

Life cycles and growing up on the Reef

Learn about the life cycles of a variety of Reef animals including marine reptiles, mammals and fish. Some Reef animals hatch from eggs and others are born live. Using examples from a variety of Reef animals, students will discover that there are different levels of parental care and this influences how many eggs are laid, or how many babies are born. We explain that some offspring look very similar to their adult form, whilst others, which start their life as planktonic larvae, look surprisingly different. Using the life cycle of a crab, we show how some Reef animals start their life as plankton and undergo several changes in shape and form as they grow up. We will also discuss environmental factors that can affect the life cycles of Reef animals.

Australian Curriculum Links:

Introduction to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and how it is managed

The Great Barrier Reef is internationally recognised for its outstanding beauty and biological diversity, which is reflected in its status as a World Heritage Area. Conserving the Reef's biodiversity is not just desirable - it is essential. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is responsible for managing the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park to ensure it is protected for the future. During this session you will gain an appreciation of the enormity of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, the multiple uses that occur within it, the challenges it is facing and how it is cooperatively managed, making it arguably the best managed natural resource on planet Earth.

Australian Curriculum Links:

Careers on the Reef

Discover the various career pathways of a selection of staff working at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (the Reef Authority) and at Reef HQ Aquarium.

The Reef Authority is the Australian Government’s lead agency responsible for the management of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Reef HQ Aquarium is the Reef Authority’s education centre for the Great Barrier Reef.

Gain an understanding of the wide range of employment opportunities that exist within Reef HQ Aquarium, if you thought it was all about feeding the fish, think again. We take a close look at retail, sales, education, curatorial, water quality and trades, showing what is required to run a successful tourism facility, and discussing the work experience and study pathways that may be required to work in these fields.

Then through brief recorded interviews with other Reef Authority staff, discover how Reef managers, scientists, legal officers and digital marketing professionals are all working together to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

Australian Curriculum Links:

Classification of animals on the Reef

Discover the diversity of animals found on the Great Barrier Reef, one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the planet. Gain an understanding of how taxonomic classification is used for identifying animals and the hierarchical system and scientific conventions for naming species. Using the physical similarities and differences of particular features to group animals, test your knowledge in an interactive activity to identify a variety of different Reef organisms.

Australian Curriculum Links:

Reefs at Risk

The Great Barrier Reef is internationally recognised for its outstanding beauty and biological diversity, which is reflected in its status as a World Heritage Area. However the Reef and its inhabitants are under threat from a number of human impacts. The major threats to the Reef are:

• Climate change
• Coastal development
• Land-use run-off (including marine debris)
• Direct use (illegal fishing and poaching)

Learn about how each of these threats effect the Reef and the animals and plants that call it home. Find out what Reef Managers are doing to reduce impacts and keep the Reef healthy and resilient. Discover how you can help protect the Reef, no matter where you live.

Australian Curriculum Links:

Living things on the Reef

Discover some of the iconic habitats in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and identify which living things in each habitat are producers, consumers or decomposers. Learn how habitat complexity provides more places for animals to live, and examine what happens to organisms when habitats change. Make predictions about how various human activities may impact food chains and predator-prey relationships. Explore interactions between different living things and determine which interactions are competitive, and which are mutually beneficial.

Australian Curriculum Links:

Reef Relationships

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is more than just coral reefs. Join us to discover a variety of ecosystems that are found there. Develop an understanding of the inter-relationships between the organisms that can be found in different ecosystems including predator-prey interactions, and symbiotic relationships. Investigate how changes in biotic and abiotic factors arising from human activities can affect feeding relationships in these ecosystems, including how poor water quality increases algal growth, and population outbreaks of coral eating Crown-of-thorns starfish.

Australian Curriculum Links:

To book your Reef Virtual Learning Experience, enquire about booking availability or discuss options, please contact:

The Reef Education Team
E: education@gbrmpa.gov.au
T: 07 4750 0754

Stay tuned for our next FREE Virtual Learning Experience.

To book your Reef Virtual Learning Experience, enquire about booking availability or discuss options, please contact:

The Reef Education Team
E: education@gbrmpa.gov.au
T: 07 4750 0754

Reef Beat education series

The Reef Beat education series is a popular resource for teaching primary school students. Each series focuses on a different topic and includes posters, an activity book and, in some cases, videos.

The education series covers a range of topics, including climate change, sea country connection, sustainability, wetlands, threats to the Reef, biodiversity and more.

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Resources for each year level

These are curriculum-linked teaching materials specifically developed to be integrated in school learning as science focused units.

There are units for each year level – from early learning to grade 12 – making it an easy resource for teachers to utilise.

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Explore resources by theme

Teachers can explore all resources by topic, including coastal ecosystems, endangered species, extreme weather, the Great Barrier Reef, Indigenous use, marine debris, responsible reef practices, climate change, tourism and water quality.

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‘The Reef HQ hook-up was a huge success and the Year 10 students loved it. We also had several staff that popped in as a result of me mentioning it at staff briefing. The staff and students were very impressed with the quality of the presentation and the technology. Craig and Julie, you guys were great and I really appreciate how you included lots of commentary about Ningaloo. Already looking forward to the next time Hale School connects with Reef HQ Aquarium'. Rob Barugh, Head of Education Technology, Hale School, Western Australia.

Our renowned Introduction to the Great Barrier Reef program has won multiple international awards:

2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Berrien RESA - Teachers' Favourite Award.

2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 (Honourable mention), 2018, 2019, 2020 Pinnacle Award from the "Centre for Interactive Learning Collaborations" - Vote by teachers from across the USA.

In partnership with researchers from Deakin University, Reef Education staff co-authored a paper profiling the long term successes of a virtual Great Barrier Reef education program published in the Journal of STEM Outreach. The paper explores over ten years of participant trends for the Reef Videoconferencing program to assess whether the program is a mechanism for increasing community education outreach. You can view the paper by clicking here.

The Reef Education team can be contacted via:

Email: education@gbrmpa.gov.au
Telephone: +61 (0)7 4750 0754