NOAA Connects St. Petersburg with Hands-On Marine Debris Learning
MARCH 6, 2023 — Last month, staff from NOAA's Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, participated in the two-day St. Petersburg Science Festival.
During the first day, the event was open to fourth and fifth graders from local schools. Almost 100 students learned how easily marine life can accidentally ingest plastic debris through the hands-on activity “Plastic is a Deadly Meal.” Students also learned about the potential sources of debris, the harmful impacts debris of debris ingestion, and how they can be part of the solution.
On the second day, the event was open to the local community and attracted an estimated 12,000 attendees. Visitors learned about marine debris and how they can help prevent it with the 3R’s - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. To demonstrate reusing items, trash was turned into art by upcycling plastic bottle caps. Participants made necklaces and their own artistic creations from bottle caps and then made their own pledge for how they can help keep our oceans clean.