Jeff falls asleep one night and dreams of becoming a killer whale.  He follows the matriarch of “J pod,” and experiences the complex relationships whales share with each other and the environment around them.  Waking from the dream, Jeff returns to the real world with a new curiosity and the desire to make a difference.  The story is told through performance, slides, video and real orca calls.

Here we “bring the field to the classroom."  Students participate in experiential/role playing activities created to introduce them to current orca research.  Using data collected throughout the previous year, young researchers identify orca whales, track their movements, learn basic whale behaviors and practice their skills in real-time video exercises.  They will leave with a working understanding of the complexities of these magnificent animals and how dependent they are on a healthy and diverse environment.

This overnight activity challenges students to identify and record their ecological footprints and to mitigate their effects.  The activity starts with the participants examining and recording what they find in their home, noting things like their families purchasing choices and energy consumption.  With these baselines established, students are then given simple strategies to lessen their impact.  Students are then asked to return their results to their teacher and they in turn forward them on to us. During the final week, the students examine their results and note the significant changes that  they and their fellow students have made.   By the end of the school year, KWT will post the results from all participating schools on this website, proving what we believe- that kid’s can make a difference-now!

Schools willing to complete this program activity can get our complete presentation gram at no expense to the school, thanks to the generous support of both the Russell Family Foundation, NOAA Fisheries, the Washington Endowment for the Environment, and from supporters like you.

A typical visit looks like this…

 Let’s say your school has three classes interested in Killer Whale Tales, with a total of 100 students.   All 100 students will attend the 50-60 minute storytelling/lecture at the same time. After the presentation Killer Whale Tales instructors will lead the students through the hands-on exercises, for up to 2 hours, depending on the activities you choose.  Hands-on activities can be added or deleted to fit your scheduling requirements.  A conservation wrap-up and take-home challenge follows. 

Tuition:

Through the generous support of the Russell Family Foundation, NOAA and other individual donors, classes willing to complete the “Kids Making a Difference-Now! overnight homework activity can receive the program free of charge.  You will be asked to administer, collect and return the provided worksheets to our office within 2 weeks of the presentation date.

Other schools can receive the program at $5 per student .

Ready to Register?

Click here to download a registration packet.