We help young people from age three to eighteen understand the ocean as a system connected to their food, their weather, their jobs, and their future.
The Gap
It gets very quiet
Ask a child what a shark is, and she can tell you. Coral reef? She knows that too. She’s probably heard there’s plastic in the ocean.
But ask how the ocean shapes the food she eats, the weather outside her window, or the career she might build there, and it gets very quiet.
That’s the gap the Ocean Literacy Institute exists to close. Knowing facts about the ocean isn’t the same as understanding it.
What We’re Building
One path, from age three to eighteen
Books, classroom curriculum, teacher resources, hands-on experiences, career exploration, and a network of Education Fellows, all built on a single framework and growing with the student.
Ages 3-6: Discover
Ages 7-10: Understand
Ages 7-10: Understand
Wonder, ocean animals, and first connections
Ages 7-10: Understand
Ages 7-10: Understand
Ages 7-10: Understand
How ocean life and ocean processes work
Ages 11-14: Connect
Ages 15-18: Think & Act
Ages 15-18: Think & Act
Ecosystems, people, and solving real problems
Ages 15-18: Think & Act
Ages 15-18: Think & Act
Ages 15-18: Think & Act
Systems thinking, careers, and informed action.
Ocean IQ
Raising the Ocean IQ of the next generation
Ocean IQ is our educational framework. Every book, lesson, and program helps students answer five questions: What is happening? How is everything connected, and why does it matter? What happens if something changes? Where could this take me? And what can I do?
We’re not trying to raise a generation that knows more ocean facts. We’re trying to raise one that understands how things connect.
Flagship Book
Move Toward the Shark
A child sees a shark and thinks one word: danger. Then she learns how sharks behave, what they do for an ecosystem, and which fears are true. Understanding changes how we respond. Our first book tells a true story in four editions, one for each stage.
Where We Are Now
We’re at the beginning
The Ocean Literacy Institute is in its founding year. We’re writing the first books, recruiting our Founding Education Fellows, and preparing our first classroom pilot. Founding partners who join now help shape what the Institute becomes, and see the results, including what worked and what didn’t.
Get Invloved
Schools
Partners & Donors
Educators
Bring ocean literacy to your classroom, or join our first pilot for grades 6–8 or 9-12.
Educators
Partners & Donors
Educators
Help shape the books and curriculum as a Founding Education Fellow.
Partners & Donors
Partners & Donors
Scientists & Ocean Professionals
Help build the Institute from the beginning.
Scientists & Ocean Professionals
Scientists & Ocean Professionals
Scientists & Ocean Professionals
Review content, share your work, or spend an hour with students.
Divers, Surfers & Sailors
Scientists & Ocean Professionals
Divers, Surfers & Sailors
Help shape books, curriculum and workshops through real life stories, experiences, and time with students.
Parents
Scientists & Ocean Professionals
Divers, Surfers & Sailors
Hear when the books are published
Closing
The ocean isn’t somewhere else. It’s in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the jobs we create, and the future we share.
Ocean Literacy Institute
Understand the Ocean • Understand Our World
Copyright © 2026 Ocean Literacy Institute - All Rights Reserved.
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