Dr. Diane's Adventures in Learning
🎧 Adventures in Learning with Dr. Diane 🎧
Inspire curiosity. Spark creativity. Fuel a lifelong love of learning.
Are you an educator, librarian, parent, or STEM/STEAM enthusiast looking to make learning come alive for kids? Adventures in Learning with Dr. Diane is your go-to podcast for hands-on, joyful learning that connects STEM/STEAM education, multicultural children's literature, and real-world exploration.
Join Dr. Diane Jackson Schnoor, educator and explorer, as she travels the world (literally and virtually!) to bring you conversations with award-winning authors, illustrators, educators, scientists, and STEM leaders. Each episode delivers fresh ideas, engaging stories, and practical tips to inspire early childhood and elementary learners—in the classroom, the library, or at home. Wonder, curiosity, connection, and play -- we bring the world to you!
🌎 Featuring:
- Innovative STEM/STEAM experiences
- Diverse children's book recommendations
- Strategies for inquiry-based, joyful learning through play
- Voices from around the globe that inspire the WOW
🧠 Perfect for:
Early childhood & elementary educators | School librarians | Homeschoolers | Caregivers | STEM/STEAM champions
🔗 Explore featured books: bookshop.org/shop/drdianeadventures
📝 Read full show notes: drdianeadventures.com/blog
💌 Have an idea or guest suggestion? Email: diane@drdianeadventures.com
👉 Subscribe, rate, and review to support more Adventures in Learning!
Dr. Diane's Adventures in Learning
Learning with Whales: STEM, Stewardship, and the Blue Ocean Society
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What if your next STEM lesson started with a 65‑foot whale and a beach cleanup scavenger hunt?
For 25 years, Blue Ocean Society has been quietly protecting whales and marine life right in our New England “backyard.” In this ocean-focused episode, Dr. Diane talks with co-founder and executive director Jen Kennedy about how long-term whale research, monthly beach cleanups, and joyful, hands-on education invite kids (and adults) to learn through play while caring for the Gulf of Maine.
Jen shares how photo-ID lets them follow individual whales like Pinball and Little Spot over decades, and what threats like entanglement, vessel strikes, warming waters, and shifting prey mean for species such as the North Atlantic right whale. You’ll hear how Blue Ocean Society turns data collection into citizen science, trash into art, and curiosity into real-world STEM/STEAM experiences—through their inflatable fin whale, microplastics toolkits, marine-debris art projects, and kid-friendly “scavenger hunt” cleanups.
If you love whales, teach STEM/STEAM, or want playful, hopeful ways to connect curiosity, conservation, and hands-on learning, this adventure is for you.
Chapters:
- 02:11 – From whale intern to co-founder: the Blue Ocean Society story
- 04:00 – Falling in love with whales, photo-ID, Pinball & Little Spot
- 06:29 – Threats to whales: entanglement, vessels & a warming Gulf of Maine
- 08:20 – Learning through play: inflatable whales, school programs & touch tanks
- 09:46 – Beach cleanups & turning data into action
- 12:36 – Microplastics, foam fragments & upstream choices families can make
- 15:32 – Citizen science: Marine Debris Tracker, microplastics toolkits & kids as scientists
- 20:49 – Dream research cruises, hidden whales & what still excites Jen
- 22:39 – Joy, resilience & favorite whale facts
- 26:23 – How to donate, volunteer, adopt a whale & what gives Jen hope
Links
- Blue Ocean Society
- Sign up for 2026 Blue Ocean Symposium
- Follow on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn
Call to Action
Ready to turn whale wonder into hands-on learning?
- Choose one single-use item to swap for a reusable option this week and invite your learners to do the same.
- Plan a “scavenger hunt” cleanup at your schoolyard, park, or local shoreline, and treat it like a STEM investigation.
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If this conversation sparked wonder, gave you a helpful strategy, or offered a needed reminder of hope, please share it with a friend or colleague.
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*Disclosure: I am a Bookshop.org. affiliate.
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