OceanX Education · Educator guide

I Am Kelp

Ages 12–1460–75 minutesGroups of 2–3
Driving question
What keeps a kelp forest alive?
Experience overview

Using real-time body tracking and 3D interaction, learners experience how sea otter loss can trigger urchin overgrazing, kelp decline and ecosystem collapse. They then explore how restoration can help the forest recover.

Learning intention

Understand how relationships within a kelp forest influence its ability to thrive, withstand disruption and recover.

Learning outcomes
Do

Trace how change moves through a kelp forest, identify its benefits for the ocean and people, and suggest an action that supports both.

Think

Recognise the forest as a connected system where changing one relationship can reshape the whole ecosystem.

Feel

Build connection, concern and informed hope through the forest’s collapse and recovery.

Learning journey
ExploreEnter the forest
InvestigateLook behind the game
ReflectWhat did you discover?
CreateConnect the kelp forest
What you need
  • Internet-connected display and learner devices
  • Access to the I Am Kelp webpage and game
  • A laptop or desktop with a webcam for the game
  • One Learner Activity per learner or group
  • Cards or 6–10 Post-its per group
  • Pens, pencils and colouring materials
Before you begin

Core relationship: sea otters eat sea urchins. When sea otter numbers fall, urchins can increase and overgraze kelp. This can shift a thriving forest towards an urchin barren.

Fewer otters·More urchins·Less kelp·Less habitat
Facilitation guide

Explore · Investigate · Reflect · Create

1. Explore · Enter the forest15 min
Learner activity

Divide the four videos among the groups. Ask learners to hold two questions in mind as they watch, then debrief the full set using See/Think/Wonder.

Key questions

SEE: What do you notice about life in the forest?
THINK: How do sea urchins and sea otters affect kelp differently?
WONDER: What might happen if otters disappear?

Evidence of learning

Learners identify organisms, describe different roles and predict a consequence of sea otter loss.

2. Investigate · Look behind the game15 min
Learner activity

Play I Am Kelp through the lens of a scientist and complete the causal chain on the activity sheet.

Key questions

What changes first?
What drives the shift towards an urchin barren?
What conditions could help the forest recover?

Evidence of learning

Learners connect sea otter loss, urchin growth, kelp decline and habitat change.

3. Reflect · What did you discover?15 min
Learner activity

Pause independently, record a shift in thinking, then compare ideas with a partner.

Key questions

What changed how you think about kelp forests?
Which relationship now feels most important?
What are you still wondering?

Evidence of learning

Learners explain a new understanding using evidence from the videos or game.

4. Create · Connect the kelp forest15 min
Learner activity

Draw and colour a healthy kelp forest. Add ocean life, human benefits, threats and recovery actions, then connect them.

Key questions

How does kelp help ocean life?
How does it help people?
Could helping people harm the forest?
What action could support both?

Evidence of learning

Learners create a map with accurate, labelled relationships and propose an action that benefits people and the ecosystem.

See • Think • Wonder

Use this routine during Explore to move from observation to inquiry. Give learners time to notice before inviting explanations. Adapted from Harvard Project Zero's See-Think-Wonder thinking routine.

Keep systems thinking concrete

Use everyday relationship phrases: provides a home for, eats, protects, damages, depends on and helps recover. Ask learners to explain each line they draw.

Use the forest starter

The colouring-page illustration gives learners recognisable kelp, holdfasts, fish, urchins and an otter to build from. They can add colour, organisms, labels and new connections, then develop the forest map from these starting points.

After the session

Capture where curiosity appeared, which relationships learners understood, where misconceptions remained and whether their maps connected benefits for both ocean life and people.