Welcome! Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary is dedicated to increasing awareness and involvement with sanctuary resources through building public knowledge of Great Lakes maritime heritage, Great Lakes literacy, and ocean literacy

Join us in discovering your sanctuary! Sanctuary partners provide educational programming to educators and students, as well as outreach and engagement to the local community.

Students in a classroom face a large TV screen with NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuary researchers sharing their experiences.

For Teachers

Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary offers educational materials, like virtual reality content, shipwreck-based lesson plans, and more.

A young female student and a researcher look at several monitors showing them underwater footage of shipwrecks in Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary.

For Students

National marine sanctuaries are living classrooms that can be explored in person or through interactive digital labs and activities. In this section, you will find games, information on marine careers, free materials, videos, and other fun activities.

Five kids in a variety of jumping positions are silhouetted against a vibrant orange sunset at a beach.

Ocean Guardian Programs

Ocean Guardian programs encourage children to explore their natural surroundings to form a sense of personal connection to the ocean and/or watersheds in which they live.

a diver films a turtle with a camera

Sanctuaries 360° Virtual Reality Lessons

Sanctuaries 360° is a collection of immersive underwater virtual reality (VR) experiences to bring America’s underwater treasures to viewers all over the world. Check out the VR videos and 360° immersive photos to explore marine sanctuaries from the comfort of your home.

A person in a shirt with a NOAA logo staffs an outreach booth with educational handouts at a maritime festival.

Games and Activities

Explore this collection of games, coloring pages, and fun activities to help you learn about national marine sanctuaries.

A group of graduate students and NOAA staff at a scenic lookout on Molokai as part of the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship program.

Student Scholarships

NOAA offers many scholarships, internships, fellowships, and post docs for undergraduate and graduate students.