5  Outreach

Participating in outreach is a wonderful way to engage with the public and share the important work we do at the lab. Outreach is encouraged for all MML staff. This includes anything from a formal NOAA event to simply visiting a classroom to teach kids about marine mammals. On this page you’ll find information about outreach events, instruction on how to reserve materials, and existing ideas you can add to!

5.1 Outreach Ideas

There are a number of local outreach opportunties such as:

Outreach in local schools is often established opportunistically through personal contacts. Staff can also take the step of reaching out to schools with less resources to provide outreach opportunities to students. Staff have also participated as judges in school science fairs, talked with kids at Little Anchor (the onsite childcare and preschool), and participated in the WRC Summer Science Camp.

5.2 Outreach Materials

There are outreach materials available through both the MML as well as the AFSC Communications division. There you can find banners and more general materials as well as fisheries specific supplies. The MML collection includes a more extensive selection of marine mammal skulls, pelts, baleen, and plenty of whale lice, which is always a big hit!

You can get a sneak peak at what’s in the MML collection by perusing the Inventory. These materials are stored in the shared storage room (building 4, room 1045) under the counter across from PEP’s storage locker. Feel free to sort through these bins to put together what you would like to take to your outreach event. Always take great care to safeguard and return items after your event.

5.2.1 Reserving MML Outreach Materials

To reserve the MML outreach materials, check the MML Outreach Calendar to ensure there’s not a conflict with another reservation, and then create an event to cover the days you’ll need the materials. Inlcude the following in your event details:

  • your name
  • name of the event you plan to attend
  • date, time, location of the event itself
  • include the days needed to pick up and drop off supplies in the date range of your reservation

After your event, please return materials promptly and record your outreach event to help the communications division track staff participation in outreach events across the center.

Creative MMLites have developed and built upon a number of outreach presentation materials over the years. Feel free to make use of–and contribute to–these for your event. There are also a number of games and activities that have been developed including Polar Detectives, thermal camera demonstrations, and more! Feel free to contact Erin Moreland or Michelle Lander for assistence.

Visit the AFSC Education & Outreach page to see what else is available through the Communications division.

5.3 Record your Outreach Event

Record your outreach event here! This form can be completed before or after your event. Recording your event allows the center to track the types of activities staff are participating in, the materials needed/used, and summarize the number of people impacted by our combined efforts.

Thank you!

5.4 How to Host an Intern or Volunteer

Guidance and links for hosting an Intern can be found here.

Guidance and links for hosting a Student Volunteer and a Non-Student Volunteer/Guest Worker can be found here.

5.5 Presentations and Publications

One way to reach a broader audience and promote MML research is through presentations and publications. Support for creating poster presentations is available through AFSC Graphics

All formal research documents that present data, results, discuss findings, or offer conclusions in which an author or coauthor cites AFSC affiliation are required to go through the Center’s Research Publication Tracking System (RPTS) review/approval process. MML also requires that papers with a MML lead author undergo scientific review by two peers prior to loading the document into RPTS.