Settling Plate Research Project

California Academy of Sciences

The Settling Plate Research Project is a hands-on scientific study that teaches students about their local marine environment and how to successfully conduct scientific experiments in the field. Started in the summer of 2002 with one San Francisco area school and several California Academy of Sciences high school interns, the project is now working with six classes of students at five schools around the Bay Area. Over the course of a school year, students build and deploy their settling plates at local marinas, collect and analyze data on what organism become established on the plates, and compile their results into a final project. In addition to learning scientific methodology and marine biology concepts, students gain an appreciation for and sense of stewardship toward their local marine environment.