Texas State Aquarium - Keepers of the Coast

The Texas State Aquarium’s Keepers of the Coast (KOTC) promotes a greater understanding of the importance of our natural resources by focusing on three main topics: water, wetlands, and watersheds. Through long-term participation in KOTC, students gain a better understanding of their local environment and improve their critical thinking skills to become well-informed citizens and future leaders.

KOTC was developed to address Action Items included in the Coastal Bend Bays Plan. Specifically to be addressed were the needs identified in elementary science instruction. Traditionally, the average elementary classroom received very little science instruction. In 2003, the Texas Education Agency implemented a first-ever elementary science test, administered at Grade 5. The changes in the standards increased the need for added math and science pedagogy for teachers in the elementary schools. The need for sustained instruction across grade levels is intensified by the new middle school science test which was administered in 2006.

KOTC was developed as a multi-component, multi-grade level program to offer sustained, targeted instruction for area schools. It was successfully implemented in FY2001 and originally targeted grades 3, 5, 6, and 8. Concepts introduced in lower grades form the foundation of the program, and are progressively built upon as students advance into middle school (properties of water, water conservation, wetlands, watersheds, water quality). KOTC now involves all students in grades 3-8.

KOTC emphasizes the connection among inland environments, coastal waters, and the Gulf of Mexico. Participating districts are distributed across the CBBEP project area and include coastal and inland communities: Alice, Aransas Pass, Benavides, Ingleside, and Woodsboro. School campuses that participate are required to take action to ensure the sustainability of local resources, wetlands, watersheds, and waterways.

KOTC provides Learning on the Edge (LOTE) participants added knowledge about the estuarine ecosystems and presents programs that educators can adapt to their classrooms.

For more information, log on to www.texasstateaquarium.org