For Teachers

Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary offers virtual reality content, shipwreck-based lesson plans, and more. We recommend that teachers check back throughout the year for updates and opportunities.

A screen shot of the virtual reality video of the St. Peter shipwreck with the following text overlaid “National Marine Sanctuaries, Explore the Blue” with a 360 visual element.

Virtual Reality to Lake Ontario’s St. Peter Shipwreck

One of Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary's most visited recreationally accessible shipwrecks, St. Peter, is located northeast of Putneyville. This 135-foot, three-masted schooner rests upright in 117 feet of water. Learn about the history of the schooner and the battle with 70 mph winds in this Sanctuaries 360 video!

A view of Black Duck’s stern from the starboard side. The scow’s box-like construction is apparent. The rudder and tiller are visible at left as well as the raised cabin at the stern.

Shipwrecks of Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary contains a collection of nearly 70 known historic shipwrecks and one historic aircraft that testify to Lake Ontario’s rich history and heritage. Learn more about these shipwrecks.

Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary VR lesson plan

Shipwreck Explorers!

This lesson plan complements the VR video. Students explore the wreck of schooner St. Peter and become explorers looking for other shipwrecks within the sanctuary boundary. They research the technologies used by maritime archaeologists to locate and image shipwrecks and participate in simulations of the use of two of these technologies, sonar and photogrammetry.

A close-up shot underwater of a ship’s propeller from a shipwreck.

Shipwreck Elementary Collection

Exploring shipwrecks is a great way to learn about history and science! This unit is broken down into three sections: the D.M. Wilson wreck, the USS Monitor wreck, and general shipwreck learning activities. Feel free to pick and choose from the videos, VR dives, and hands-on activities below to create your own custom learning experience, or do them all. Explore the wreck detective hands-on activities that will help you become a maritime archaeologist!

A scuba diver in a wetsuit with a clipboard records observations underwater while diving on a shipwreck.

Mock Shipwreck: Mapping the Past

Maritime archeology is a field of study that provides many career opportunities based in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The focus of this lesson is the creation of a shipwreck site plan.

Two teachers stand on the back deck of a research vessel preparing to throw a NOAA buoy into the water.

National Marine Sanctuaries Educational Materials

NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries provides teachers with educational materials for your classroom. You will find curriculum, lesson plans and activities related to shipwrecks, cultural heritage, archaeology, and marine protected areas that will excite your students about science and technology.

An underwater scene of Big Momma, a giant coral head in the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa with three divers exploring the area.

Exploring Ocean Mysteries

Exploring Ocean Mysteries is a curriculum that makes it easy to teach the seven Ocean Literacy Principles while meeting Next Generation Science Standards, Common Core, and Climate Literacy standards. Lessons are targeted to middle grades and adaptable for grades 4-12. They use the National Marine Sanctuary System as an engaging backdrop that helps students understand their importance for exploration, research, Indigenous cultures, and more.

Young children gather around a Van de Graaff machine, a metal structure with a large metal sphere on top, with a metal spherical wand attached. The children watch the machine with faces of awe as they see electricity passing between the machine and the wand.

NOAA Education

Looking for more NOAA resources? Find additional lessons, activities, and data on climate, ocean, marine debris, and more in the NOAA resource collections. You can also conduct a search in the NOAA Sea to Sky Database.