Floating Classroom with Somerset Preparatory Academy

On March 3rd, 2026, The International SeaKeepers Society hosted a floating classroom experience with 22 4th and 5th grade students as well as 5 educators from Somerset Preparatory Academy. We met our students at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus where after a brief introduction from our Educational Outreach Manager, Jack, we hopped aboard DISCOVERY Vessel River Queen and headed out for a beautiful day on Biscayne Bay. We started our day with an interactive discussion on the major coastal ecosystems that play critical roles in South Florida, namely coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass meadows. Our students took turns naming native animals and properties of each ecosystem, and even got to hold and make physical observations of some coral samples our team has collected at beaches all over Miami. We then transitioned into a discussion about water quality before letting the students get their hands dirty, using our Earth Echo Water Challenge kits to test parameters of Biscayne Bay such as dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, and turbidity. So far through 2026 we have consistently seen high dissolved oxygen levels and stable, healthy pH and temperature, which is extremely reassuring and indicates stable ecosystem health. We finished our day with a short island cleanup at Sandspur Island, where in just half an hour our students were able to remove more than 59 pounds of trash, including discarded microplastics and charcoal from abandoned or dumped grills left on the island. We give a huge thank you to the students of Somerset Academy for their hard work, to the chaperones and educators for helping us lead the event, and to the team of D/Y River Queen for a great day on the water!