About The Ocean Project
The Ocean Project Initatives
Mission
Leadership and
Advisory Councils
Special Thanks
The Ocean Project Team
Internship Opportunities

About The Ocean Project

Educating for Action

The Ocean Project helps its global network of zoos, aquariums, and museums (ZAMs) effectively educate their millions of visitors about how they can help protect and conserve our ocean planet. The Ocean Project helps its broad network to enhance ocean awareness among the public; change attitudes and behaviors for conservation; increase civic involvement in community conservation activities; and generate regional, national, and international policy-focused action. We provide all Ocean Project Partners with cutting edge public opinion and communications research; strategies for effective educational and outreach programs; the latest in ocean and social science; and other helpful resources, information, and strategic opportunities. Since 1997, The Ocean Project has grown from just a handful of American aquariums into a global network of over 750 ZAMs, conservation organizations, and other interested educational institutions and organizations in all 50 U.S. states and 75 countries abroad that span the globe. Collectively, our Partners reach over 200 million people - more than the number of people that attend all major American sporting events combined. We aim to help significantly promote positive change by working with and through The Ocean Project`s expansive network of Partners.

Building an Ocean Constituency

An underlying premise in all activities of The Ocean Project is to help people to think and act with our world ocean in mind - whether one lives in Australia or Arizona, Tahiti or Tennessee - and instill a stronger sense of the interconnectedness of life and a responsibility for making sure we do as much as we can in our lives. Ultimately, using the connections with our ocean, we aim to create a true earth ethic, and a more sustainable global society. In the United States and many other parts of the world, this way of thinking is the exception, and a strong constituency taking action for our world ocean is still notably absent. In addition to providing information and tools for our Partners to become even more effective at communicating for conservation outcomes with their visitors, we also provide many other benefits and services for our Partners. For instance, we developed our newest initiative, Seas the Day, to provide content, ideas and inspiration for our Partners to reach their visitors and members with ways to make an immediate difference, to benefit themselves, their community, and our ocean. The Ocean Project also continues to lead efforts to promote and coordinate World Ocean Day on and around June 8th. Working with our diverse Partners, this worldwide celebration of our world ocean grows each year!

Communicating for Change

The Ocean Project focuses on changing the ZAM approach to education by helping our Partners` staff more effectively educate and communicate with their visitors for conservation outcomes. Our strategies go beyond simply conveying facts; we utilize a communications approach that keeps things positive, informative, empowering, and, ultimately, effective in changing attitudes and behaviors. In addition to helping our Partner network to bring about positive personal changes, we strive to motivate ZAMs to help shape public policy on key overarching environmental education and ocean conservation issues, nationally and internationally.

Customizing Conservation

We are always striving to customize our efforts for our Partners. Through the Seas the Day initiative, for example, we are creating customizable products and tools - available practically at cost to Partners. These mission-driven products can be used in retail, as membership premiums, and for development purposes. The unique Seas the Day desktop conservation education and action calendar was the first such product, and we have developed three versions of The Seven C`s conservation bookmark, which can also be co-branded. We also provide hang-tags with these bookmarks for our Partners and friends. The Ocean Project always remains open to ideas from our Partners and friends. Essentially, we are interested in developing tools and methods for our Partners to convey conservation messages and drive the public to learn more and take action for our ocean.

Join the Global Network for Our Ocean!

If you`re affiliated with an organization that is not yet a Partner, please join our global network. You can receive our monthly e-newsletter, Blue Planet News to Use, and, if interested, our Seas the Day personal action update, with its new conservation theme each month. If you have questions, please contact us!