
***Special alert! I am heading to the Galapagos from August 5th until September 6th. I will be on an expedition, but there are still a few spots available. If you are interested in joining me in the Darwin Arch Club to scuba dive or snorkel with whale sharks for one of four weeks, please contact me as soon as possible at
annie@anniecrawley.com *** After several months of development I am launching my new website specifically to highlight and promote the speaking side of my business. Please help us celebrate by visiting
www.AnnieCrawley.com and considering me for your next conference, event, keynote speaker or school presentation. Please take a moment to let me know what you think! I would like to thank my colleagues who helped make this site possible: Richard Salas for an unbelievable studio session to get professional images and Taylor Reaume of
The Search Engine Pros who is an internet guru. This week I am attending the National Marine Educators Association Conference in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and it has been four days of action packed learning, networking and fun. Surrounded by educators from across the nation being represented by teachers, professors, Aquarium Education Departments, NGO’s and corporations setting the pace for the future in Ocean and Great Lake Education to be incorporated into K-12 curriculum. Last night we were treated to an unbelievable experience at Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Aquarium of the Smokies. They have tunnels so you can get a birds eye view and actually get behind the animals within the exhibits. We also danced to an unbelievable band,
The Chill Billies underneath a quote by Jules Verne, speaking as Captain Nemo, “The Sea is a vast reservoir of nature. It was through the sea that the earth so to speak began…” And so I joined the Ocean Literacy Committee in the NMEA who has been lobbying to get Ocean Literacy into the national standards of education. This next round will determine what teachers will need to teach for the next 15 years so it is imperative we let our voices be heard for the need of Ocean Literacy in the classroom. Dive Into Your Imagination lesson plans for Pre K through K and First to Third Grades will be releasing in late 2010. These and our new adventures of Ocean Annie Books have been partially funded by a grant from Save Our Seas so we are very excited to have them meet national and international standards! As I write this, we are getting ready to hear from our keynote speaker, Shark Lady Dr. Eugenie Clark, who told me one of her favorite experiences was scuba diving with whale sharks for the first time! And I could totally relate because my life changed during the summer of 2001 when I dived with whale sharks for the first time in my life. Here are a few highlights from Dr. Eugenie Clark’s keynote speech. I wanted to bring you here with me to learn a few of the reasons she was awarded the NMEA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.