Activity Summary: Students will be able to describe what ocean cores are and some of the visual data scientists collect to understand Earth’s history, and describe the careers involved in running a research vessel to collect ocean sediment cores, the tools they use, and the work they do.

This series of mini lessons is designed to introduce students to and encourage exploration of a variety of subjects related to the process and science of scientific ocean drilling. They can be completed by student groups, or as whole-class activities and discussions. The order in which they appear is meant to build off each other, but they are written in a way that their order can be rearranged.

This lesson has been revised and updated based on Science Picture Exploration.