Meetings

Conference Circuit: Life Aquatic

The National Marine Educators Association’s 2016 Annual Conference starts in Orlando in the upcoming days.

The National Marine Educators Association’s 2016 Annual Conference starts in Orlando in the upcoming days.

Hundreds of educators from high schools, public aquariums, nonprofits, and government agencies are headed to the Sunshine State for five days of learning, sharing, and networking to help advance the understanding and protection of freshwater and marine ecosystems.

Association: National Marine Educators Association

Conference: 2016 Annual Conference

Venue: Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld

Location: Orlando, Florida

NMEA2016 starts on Monday with workshops in both the morning and afternoon. Topics include how to use empathy to inspire conservation action and how teachers and students can spread the word about ocean conservation through film. Also noteworthy:

Kid- and student-friendly. Parents attending the conference have lots of options to keep their kids busy while onsite. There’s Camp SeaWorld for kindergartners to eighth graders, where they’ll get the chance to interact with sharks and sea lions. And then there’s the NMEA Youth Conference for high school and college students. This day-long event will connect students with experts through sessions and workshops and give them a chance to present their personal marine conservation/education work.

Going once, going twice. The popular NMEA silent and live auctions, which raise money for the NMEA scholarship fund, give attendees the chance to bid on items with a marine motif. Items include education resources, jewelry, outdoor gear, crafts, gift certificates, charter fishing trips, vacation packages, and guided tour events.

Swap meet. Attendees are being encouraged to bring extra shells and/or sand from their home beach to share with colleagues—along with jars and baggies to collect their new samples. The goal is help participants expand their educational resources, so that if they’re working on a project or activity that requires different sands and shells, they’ll have them available.

Looking for more meeting details? Try Facebook, Twitter (#NMEA16), and Storify.

Samantha Whitehorne

By Samantha Whitehorne

Samantha Whitehorne is editor-in-chief of Associations Now. MORE

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