ACS Cetacean Education Programs

The American Cetacean Society believes that the best way to protect whales, dolphins, porpoises, and their habitats is by educating the public about these remarkable animals and the problems they face in their increasingly threatened habitats.

ACS has a variety of educational programs which are of interest to both global and local audiences. The educational resources available on this site include easy-to-understand teaching aids for self-study, traditional curriculum, public information on issues, and reprints of scientific articles from past publications. Most of this information is available either by download directly from this site or by mail-order.

	The ACS Cetacean Curriculum is a 46 page teacher's guide on the topic of whales, dolphins and porpoises. All the lessons, activities, and exhibits are available online both in PDF format and as individual pages.
	ACS sponsors International Conferences bi-annually which bring together the world's leading marine biologists, environmental writers, artists, government officials, and ocean explorers. The tireless efforts of those individuals are essential in formulating our conservation actions, updating our teaching aids, and refining our educational programs. At the conferences, scientists debate their latest theories, concerned citizens explore a broad range of cultural, political, and technological issues, and gifted artists display cetacean-themed masterpieces.
	Fact Packs are collections of Fact Sheets available by mail order at near cost. Much of the information contained in the Fact Packs is also available on this web site. Fact Sheets are dedicated to one species or topic. The collection includes over 25 species fact sheets and a collection of supporting pages.
	The American Cetacean Society conducts Educational Outreach activities both nationally and at the grass roots level, attending marine science education conferences, conducting speaker series programs, funding research, and conducting land based census programs and naturalist training programs.
	The Spyhopper publication is the American Cetacean Society's members-only newsletter. It went electronic in 2005, and is available to members in PDF form.
	Whalewatcher, the journal of the American Cetacean Society, is unique in its ability to communicate scientific information that can be easily understood by people from all walks of life. This section includes a catalog of previous issues. You can browse chronologically through the issues or navigate from a topical menu. The menus also include listings of available older Spyhopper articles. Some past issues are still available by mail order.
	Items for sale include teaching aids and educational merchandise (including a particularly nice cetacean comparison poster), t-shirts, and some conference memorabilia. Many items are provided at cost. Proceeds from others help offsets the costs of educational programs, such as the above.