Celebrating World Ocean Day

Do you love ocean animals? Are you fascinated by the secrets of the sea? Charge up your sea creature knowledge and share these awesome facts with your classmates, friends and family! Sharing the wonderful things that you know sparks appreciation in others and inspires action!

“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” ― Socrates

Here are 10 ocean facts for the next generation of ocean guardians, marine biologists and science superstars:

1. Have you heard of bioluminescence? Some ocean organisms, like fireflies of the sea, can create their own light making the water glow in the dark. They can use this to lure prey or confuse predators.
2. Did you know that the ocean can create its own waves? These are called “internal waves” and can be as tall as a skyscraper, even though they’re hidden beneath the surface.
3. The ocean is like a giant sponge that absorbs a lot of the sun’s heat, as well as the many things in the air. It helps regulate the Earth’s temperature and keeps it just right for us to live on.
4. The ocean is home to some fascinating and unusual creatures, like the blobfish and vampire squid. The extremes of the ocean lead to extreme adaptations and some very funny looking features!
5. Have you ever wondered why the ocean is blue? When sunlight hits the water, it absorbs all colours except blue, which is reflected back to our eyes, making it look blue.
6. Do you find the ocean quiet and relaxing? It’s actually a very noisy place! Human ears are designed to hear sound in the air not water but many marine animals excel in underwater hearing! Whales can communicate with each other through songs that can travel very long distances and dolphins even have complex languages!
7. Did you know that the ocean has mountains? They’re called underwater mountains or seamounts, and some are taller than the tallest mountains on land.
8. The ocean has its own kind of forests called kelp forests. They are like underwater jungles where lots of animals hide and play. One major difference though is that kelp is NOT a plant! It’s actually a macro-algae and has no roots, stems or ‘leaves’!
9. Sea turtles can travel hundreds of kilometers and always find their way back to the same beach where they were born. It’s believed they sense the magnetic fields of the Earth to do this, as well as by following certain ocean current systems.
10.  Sand is composed of tiny fragments of rock, minerals, shells, and other organic materials (broken down tiny plants and animals). Some of the main ‘ingredients’ are quartz which is usually a clear, crystal-like grain and feldspar which will be white, pink-peach or grey!