When I was a little girl on the Washington coast, I dreamed of seeing a real sea monster.
We lived in Port Townsend, and the cold waters of that coast are home to the giant Pacific octopus. It's the largest octopus in the world, with an arm span of about 16 feet. To a kid standing on the shore, that was a sea monster.
Here's the giant I dreamed about as a girl.
Long ago, sailors drew sea monsters on their maps. Some of those old maps put sea monsters in the Gulf of Mexico, with warnings for anyone sailing through. In June 2019, a team of NOAA-funded scientists went into those same waters to look for one.
They brought a special deep-sea camera called the Medusa. Most deep-sea cameras use bright lights, and bright lights scare animals away. The Medusa gives off a soft glow that looks like a glowing jellyfish instead. About 100 miles southeast of New Orleans, something big swam up to it. A giant squid wrapped its long arms around the camera, then shot back into the dark.
The scientists didn't come home talking about a sea monster. They said exploring the ocean turns the creatures people once feared into animals we can marvel at.
That's the quest your kids are about to take. They'll become marine biologists on an expedition to find the real sea monsters of the ocean. Every sea monster they track down is a real animal, and each one has a surprising tool it uses to survive.
How the Expedition Works
The 10 sea monsters on this expedition are sorted into three groups, based on what makes each creature a sea monster.
- Giants are the biggest animals in the ocean: the blue whale, giant squid, giant Pacific octopus, and whale shark.
- Stingers carry powerful venom: the box jellyfish, blue-ringed octopus, and stonefish.
- Biters are hunters with strong jaws and sharp teeth: the great white shark, tiger shark, and saltwater crocodile.
Each group survives in its own way, and figuring out how each creature survives is part of the adventure.
Before your explorers meet their first sea monster, give them a quick look at some of the ocean's wildest animals.
Start at base camp with activities the whole family can do together. After that, explorers under 12 and explorers 12 and up each get their own missions. Watch for videos along the way that show these sea creatures in action.
Base Camp: Explore These Together
Real Life Sea Monsters Fact Files and Trading Cards from Homeschool Quest (All 10 Sea Monsters)
Every marine biologist gathers facts in the field. This pack includes 15 sea monster fact files, covering every animal on this expedition plus a few bonus creatures from the videos, along with blank trading card templates. Kids read each fact file, pick out the most important details, and turn every animal they discover into their own sea monster trading card. It's free when you join the Homeschool Quest newsletter.
Meet the Ocean Legends from Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus (Expedition Crew)
Every expedition needs a crew to learn from. This printable pack introduces real ocean explorers, including Jacques Cousteau, Sylvia Earle, Eugenie Clark, and Steve Irwin. Eugenie Clark spent her life studying sharks, and Steve Irwin was famous for his work with crocodiles, so your kids meet the people who went looking for these sea monsters first. It's free when you join Tina's email list.
How Big Is a Blue Whale? from KC Edventures (Giants)
The blue whale is the biggest of the Giants, and it's hard to picture until you see it. Grab a tape measure and a bucket of sidewalk chalk, measure out 100 feet, and draw a life-size blue whale on your driveway or a quiet stretch of sidewalk. Then see how many of your kids can lie head to toe inside it.
Creep into the DEEPEND Activities from WhaleTimes (The Deep Sea)
WhaleTimes followed along with the same 2019 expedition that found the giant squid. Their free DEEPEND booklets grew out of a separate deep-sea research project in the Gulf of Mexico, and they're full of crafts, games, and hands-on science. Start with Booklet 2, Deep-Sea Animals. Younger kids will love the deep-sea coloring sheets on the same page, including an anglerfish and a glass squid. Older kids can move on to the longer science guides written for older students.
The ocean is full of creatures so strange, they look like they came from another planet.
Younger Explorers (Under 12)
Clay Blue-Ringed Octopus from SEA LIFE Sydney (Stingers)
The blue-ringed octopus is one of the smallest animals on this expedition, but its bright blue rings send a clear message to other animals: stay back. Kids shape the octopus from air-dry clay, then paint it. Make sure they add the blue rings, since those rings are the octopus's warning sign.
Crocodile Worksheets from 123 Homeschool 4 Me (Biters)
This free pack has more than 30 crocodile activities, and there's no signup required. Kids learn words like "ambush predator," which describes exactly how a saltwater crocodile hunts. It stays hidden and still until its next meal comes close.
Shark Buoyancy Experiment from Little Bins for Little Hands (Biters)
Most fish use an air-filled swim bladder to keep from sinking. Sharks don't have one. A big, oily liver helps keep them afloat instead. Kids fill one bottle with oil and one with water, drop both into a tub, and watch what happens.
Older Explorers (12 and Up)
Colossal Squid Activity Book from Te Papa (Giants)
New Zealand's national museum is home to a real colossal squid, another deep-sea giant from the Southern Ocean. This free activity book is made for ages 10 and up. Kids match up the squid's strange body parts, see just how big it is, compare it to other giant mollusks, and follow its journey to the museum.
Jellyfish Worksheets from Homeschool Share (Stingers)
These free notebooking pages walk kids through researching one jellyfish species. Point them to the box jellyfish. Its body is nearly see-through, which makes it hard to spot in the water.
Shark Research Worksheets from Blessed Homeschool (Biters)
This set gives kids one research page per shark, with room for size, diet, predators, prey, and fun facts. It covers 12 sharks, including the great white and the tiger shark, so older kids can compare two of the ocean's top Biters side by side. It's free, though you'll go through the shop's checkout to download it.
Extra Treasure for Your Explorers
Explorers who can't get enough can keep going with these extras.
- Track Charli on the OCEARCH tracker and follow the path of a real animal tagged by OCEARCH scientists.
- Read NOAA's log from the 2019 giant squid expedition to see what the scientists wrote while they searched.
- Blue Whales: The Biggest Animal EVER! from SciShow Kids
- Sea Monsters of the Past from SciShow Kids
- Hello Hammerheads! Book Read-Along from 5 Minute Stories
- Whale Shark Rescue Book Read-Along from 5 Minute Stories
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