Students Explore Aquatic Sciences (SEAS)

Students Explore Aquatic Sciences (SEAS) is a volunteer-run outreach program operated by undergraduates, graduate students, and staff in the University of Washington’s School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences and College of the Environment. We aim to increase access to science for underserved students in the Seattle area. Our program provides project-based learning activities, free of charge, for K–12 students, but our lesson offerings are primarily designed to serve middle school students. Explore the outreach services we provide or contact us to learn how to schedule an outreach activity.

UW students, staff, and faculty interested in volunteering for SEAS should visit our Volunteer Resources page.

Funding for our program is provided by the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences.

A group of people gathering around a whale poster at an Open House event.

Mission Statement

A young child looks into a microscope during an Open House event. Other people are pictured in the background and behind the child. SEAS seeks to increase access to and promote career options in aquatic and fishery sciences for K–12 students in the Seattle area. We are dedicated to providing students with opportunities to experience the aquatic sciences research done at the University of Washington and encouraging them to envision themselves as future scientists. By providing classroom lessons, activities at science outreach events, and a research Open House on UW’s campus, we hope to increase student understanding of fundamental scientific principles using real-world examples, raise awareness of local environmental issues, and connect students to marine scientists.

We also aim to build community partnerships with local science and outreach organizations and provide collaborative outreach opportunities for UW students in aquatic science disciplines.

We offer project-based learning on topics in aquatic and fishery sciences, free-of-charge. We attend community outreach events like Science Nights at local schools. We teach classroom lessons, explaining scientific fundamentals using local examples and examples from our own research. Our largest event of the year is our Open House at the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences where we facilitate career exploration, offering folks interested in aquatic and fishery sciences an opportunity to meet local scientists, learn about their work, ask questions, and hear about their academic/career journey.