Why didn't the skeleton want to go to the school dance?

Because he had no body to go with!

Happy Octoboor! The end of the month marks a time when we give a nod to the scary, grotesque, odd, and weird. Pumpkins are carved and costumes are worn celebrating favorite ghoulish creatures, celebrities, and fantasy figures. We spin ghost stories and tales of local lore. We watch scary movies between our fingers and listen out for those "bumps" in the night.

While more weird than scary, our featured creature this month joins the elite group of spookily-named sea creatures, such as the vampire squid, zombie worm, goblin shark, and ghost crab... and wears its Halloween costume all year! The aptly-named skeleton shrimp (Caprella spp.) is a small (1.25 cm–5 cm), commonly found crustacean in our state's coastal waters, and because of its small, slender, and opaque coloration, it blends in well with filamentous algae, bryozoans, and hydroids. Look closely at fouling communities on docks, pilons, or jetties, and you just might find some living there, too. These amphipods deftly use their back pair of legs to grasp onto surrounding substrates or plant and animal matter for stability. The front two claws are used for feeding on other amphipods, copepods, detritus, and other small organisms. To change locations, the skeleton shrimp positions itself horizontally and undergoes an arching-and-flattening movement much like that of an inchworm!

Make no bones about it, Halloween can be scary! In the spirit of this upcoming celebration, we hope you'll 'humerus' and ske-elvate your learning by taking advantage of these educational opportunities from the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium and our partners!

Photo credit: SCDNR

Deadlines Approaching!

REconnect (Researcher/Educator) Symposium

November 3, 2025, from 2–5 pm

Boeing Learning Lab and the South Carolina Aquarium

Deadline to Register: October 27, 2025

Educators! You are invited to attend the REconnect (Researcher-Educator) Symposium hosted by the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium in partnership with the South Carolina Aquarium! Why should you attend this free event?

• 24 water quality scientists and practitioners from colleges and organizations across South Carolina will be presenting their research at interactive booths stationed at the new Boeing Learning Lab overlooking the Charleston Harbor! 
• Topics include harmful algal blooms, shorebirds, plastic pollution, ocean acidification, marine debris community science, and more!
• All research being presented will be aligned to the 2021 South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Science Standards.
• Catered food and beverages will be provided. 
• This will be a zero-waste event in partnership with Keep Charleston Beautiful.
• Free giveaways and resources.
• The South Carolina Aquarium has offered free admission to all attendees from 4–5 pm! 

Please register by October 27. Questions can be sent to E.V. Bell.

South Carolina Marine Educators Association

General Member Meeting &

Charleston Waterkeeper Presentation

October 30, 2025, from 4:30–6 pm, via Zoom

Deadline to Register: October 27, 2025

Calling all educators! You are invited to join the South Carolina Marine Educators Association (SCMEA)'s first-ever General Member Meeting! During the meeting, you will learn about current SCMEA events and opportunities and hear from Charleston Waterkeeper volunteer Scott Glass about water quality monitoring efforts and community engagement. The evening will conclude with a general Q&A session and discussion on ways to implement these publicly available data into classroom lessons and curricula. Not a SCMEA member yet? We welcome ALL current and prospective members to join us for this General Member meeting! 

Please register by October 27. Questions about this meeting may be sent to: scmarineeducator@gmail.com.

South Carolina Marine Educators Association

Annual Conference

November 7–9, 2025

Lowcountry Montessori School

South Carolina Marine Educators Association (SCMEA) is celebrating 37 years with our annual fall conference from November 7–9 at the Lowcountry Montessori School in Beaufort, S.C.! This year’s theme, Currents of Connection, will showcase meaningful community collaborations that support impactful, place-based learning and empower educators to bring marine and coastal topics into their classrooms. You don't want to miss the fun-filled, educational opportunity! To learn more, please visit the SCMEA Conference page.

Interested in sharing your research during an oral or poster presentation? Please submit an abstract. 

Questions can be sent to scmarineeducator@gmail.com.

Educator Professional Development

2025–2026 Educator Science Café Series

December 9, 2025; January 27, 2026; February 24, 2026

Registration is now open for the 2025–2026 season of Educator Science Cafés hosted by the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium and Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum! The cafés are hosted at local Charleston venues and bring together small groups of educators and scientists for roundtable discussions—all while enjoying complimentary appetizers! Each café is free to attend, and classroom lessons, resources, and prizes are provided.

• Sense and Sense-abilities: The nose knows! Join us as we discuss a variety of marine animals’ amazing sensory capabilities, as well as the cues humans have taken from nature to incorporate into engineering and technology. December 9, 2025, from 5:30–7:30 pm (James Island).

• Current Situation: Should I stay or should I go? If you are plankton, you don’t really have a choice! From the “wanderers” of the ocean and the currents that carry them to some of the first drift calculations and their impacts on survival at sea, join us as we connect the dots from physical oceanography to social studies and more! January 27, 2026, from 5:30–7:30 pm (North Charleston)

• Can You Fathom This?: It’s no one’s fault, but don’t take this opportunity for granite! Join us for a cross-curricular evening focused on marine geology, seafloor mapping, and the history of ocean exploration. February 24, 2026, from 5:30–7:30 pm (West Ashley).

Questions can be sent to E.V. Bell or Hannah Kratz.

Seining, Seashells, and Sharks Teeth

EEASC-SCMEA Networking Event

December 6, 2025 from 11 am–3 pm

Grice Marine Lab and Grice Beach

Deadline to Register: December 1, 2025

Join the Environmental Education Association of South Carolina (EEASC) and the South Carolina Marine Educators Association (SCMEA) for an afternoon of seining, beachcombing, and marine-themed art activities. Along with Grice Marine Lab staff, we will wade over to undeveloped Grice Beach, where we will discover different flora and fauna that are caught in the seine net and found along the shoreline. Following the wade will be opportunities to engage in creative and sustainable marine art-themed activities.

Participants should expect to get wet during this experience and wearing closed-toe shoes is required. This free event is open to both EEASC and SCMEA members and nonmembers. Lunch, snacks, and drinks will be provided. Please register by December 1, 2025 and send questions to E.V. Bell or Heidi Champion.

Early Childhood Workshop

December 12, 2025, from 9 am–4 pm

Riverbanks Zoo & Garden

Join South Carolina Project WET, Project WILD and Project Learning Tree (PLT) to become a certified educator in all three early childhood curriculum activity guides!

Enhance children’s foundations in nature and develop learning skills through nationally and internationally recognized curriculum materials that can be used inside, outdoors, and by formal and nonformal educators. Project WET, WILD, and PLT curriculum activities meet SC education standards and 21^st Century Learning Skills. 

The cost for the workshop is $25 and participants will receive all three activity guides and are eligible for six hours of renewal credits. Please register by December 5. Questions can be sent to Kendall Juell.

Additional Resources

S.C. Sea Grant Consortium

Loaner Kit Program

Are you interested in exploring watersheds with your students? Maybe you'd like your students to engage in the engineering design process to create remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) or weather buoys. The Consortium's education program offers a variety of kits available free of charge to formal, nonformal, or homeschool educators in South Carolina. The following kits are currently available for checkout:

-Fish Printing Kits: A freshwater and saltwater fish printing kit provides educators with a lesson plan on fish adaptations and the rubber fish molds necessary to create gyotaku-inspired fish prints with their students.

-Enviroscape Wetlands Model: The Wetlands Enviroscape Model provides a hands-on demonstration of how watersheds can be affected by development, pollution, and other human-made and natural impacts. Included as part of the demonstration are ways in which potential pollution impacts can be mitigated (e.g., riparian buffers and salt marshes).

-The Watershed Game: This activity uses a hands-on simulation to educate groups about how land use impacts water quality and a community’s resilience to flooding. While making land management decisions, players learn about practices, plans, and policies that can improve and protect water quality and increase resilience to flooding. Two versions of this kit are available for free checkout from the Consortium: the coastal classroom model and the coastal local leader model.

-Ocean Odyssey Kits: These four kits focus on STEM disciplines while incorporating various career paths. Choose from building an ROV, a weather buoy, a catapult, or developing a capstone project.

Questions about the loaner kits can be sent to Elle Pestorius.

S.C. Sea Grant Consortium Speaker Request Form

Do you have a science night or career day coming up in the future? Would you like a speaker for your students or organization? The Consortium has plenty to share regarding marine science careers, current research projects, and engaging coastal science activities for all ages! Be sure to check out our career page to learn more about the Consortium, and if you are interested in booking the Consortium for an upcoming career day or science night, please fill out this request form.

The lettered olive is South Carolina's state shell. Photo credit: E.V. Bell.