Ocean Life in VR
A whole-class dive to the reef and beyond.
- Key stages
- EYFS - KS2
- Session length
- 45 - 60 minutes
- Group size
- One class at a time
- Formats
- Up to 6 sessions a day
About this workshop
Take your whole class on an oceanic adventure to learn about sea creatures in this marine workshop. Pupils go on a journey of discovery with Glido the alien to learn all about ocean life.
Our developers created content that gets pupils up close to dolphins, coral reefs and the creatures of the deep, with the facilitator guiding the class through each environment together.
Ideal for World Ocean Day, for a coasts or habitats topic, and for schools who want the plastics conversation to start from something pupils have seen for themselves.
How the session runs
What happens in the 45 minutes
- 01
Corals
Pupils enter a coral reef and meet its inhabitants. Beforehand the class discusses whether their favourite animals are fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds or mammals, what those animals eat, and the terms carnivore, herbivore and omnivore. Afterwards pupils meet the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef system and large enough to be seen from space, and recap that vertebrates have backbones. Corals are animals, and they contain tiny algae that provide them with food through photosynthesis in a mutually beneficial relationship. The class also looks at gills, which fish use to take oxygen from water and remove carbon dioxide, and at colonies - groups of organisms living together, whose reefs provide habitats for many other animals.
- 02
Jellyfish
Pupils enter a swarm of jellyfish. Beforehand the class discusses what type of animal a jellyfish is and meets the term invertebrate, an animal without a backbone. Afterwards pupils look at their unusual structure: jellyfish are around 98% water and have no bones, heart, brain, blood or conventional eyes. Their stinging tentacles help them catch prey and defend themselves, and their diet includes fish, shrimp, crabs and tiny plants. The class discusses how jellyfish reproduce, including releasing eggs and sperm and, in some species, producing new individuals by budding, and meets the term cnidarian, named after their specialised stinging cells.
- 03
Dolphins
Pupils meet a playful pod of dolphins. Beforehand the class works out which animals give birth to live young and feed their babies milk, establishes that these are mammals, and names other marine mammals such as seals, whales, manatees and dugongs. Afterwards pupils look at dolphin adaptations - streamlined bodies, powerful muscles, flippers and strong tails that help them swim quickly - and learn that dolphins breathe air through lungs and a blowhole rather than using gills. The class meets echolocation, where dolphins produce clicks and listen for returning echoes to locate objects and prey, similar to sonar, and learns that dolphins are cetaceans, along with whales and porpoises.
- 04
Whale Sharks
The final film introduces one of the ocean's largest creatures. Beforehand pupils name different fish and identify the largest shark species, establishing that the whale shark is the world's largest shark and differs greatly from the great white shark. Afterwards the class looks at the whale shark's enormous mouth, which can open to around four feet wide, and at filter feeding - swimming with the mouth open and filtering tiny organisms such as plankton and shrimp from the water. Pupils also look at its distinctive spotty pattern.
- 05
Virtual museum
The session closes in the museum, where pupils consolidate what they have learned and explore a wider range of ocean animals.
What pupils will learn
The science they take away
Every session is built backwards from the curriculum objectives your teachers are already working to.
- 01How ocean habitats differ from shallow reef to deep sea
- 02How marine animals are adapted to depth, pressure and darkness
- 03The difference between fish and marine mammals
- 04What a food chain looks like in the ocean
- 05How coral reefs support a huge number of species
- 06How pollution and warming water affect marine life
Curriculum links
What this covers in the National Curriculum
Science - Living things and their habitats
- Understand that approximately three quarters of Earth's surface is covered by water and that the ocean is home to millions of species.
- Recognise that the world's oceans are connected and understand the names of the five major ocean regions.
- Understand that scientists are still discovering new information about life in the ocean.
- Recognise that coral reefs are among the most biodiverse habitats on Earth.
- Distinguish between vertebrates and invertebrates.
- Identify and classify a range of ocean animals, including fish, mammals and invertebrates.
- Understand that ocean animals have evolved and developed adaptations that help them survive in aquatic environments.
- Identify adaptations used by marine animals for feeding, movement, breathing, hunting and camouflage.
- Understand the role of algae in coral reefs and recognise that coral colonies provide habitats for many other organisms.
- Describe some of the key characteristics and adaptations of jellyfish.
- Recognise that dolphins are mammals and explain how they are adapted to life in the ocean.
- Understand how dolphins use echolocation to locate prey and navigate their environment.
- Identify the whale shark as the world's largest shark and understand how it feeds on plankton and small organisms.
- Understand how camouflage helps animals survive and avoid predators or approach prey.
- Use information from the virtual museum to investigate and compare different ocean animals.
- Develop scientific questioning, observation and recall skills by predicting answers before viewing each film and reviewing them afterwards.
Key vocabulary
The words pupils will use
These are the scientific terms our facilitator uses during the session, so you can introduce them beforehand or pick them up again in follow-up lessons.
- Ocean
- marine
- habitat
- coral reef
- biodiversity
- vertebrate
- invertebrate
- mammal
- fish
- cnidarian
- carnivore
- herbivore
- omnivore
- adaptation
- colony
- algae
- gills
- oxygen
- carbon dioxide
- jellyfish
- tentacle
- stinging cells
- dolphin
- cetacean
- echolocation
- sonar
- blowhole
- lungs
- streamlined
- whale shark
- filter feeder
- plankton
- camouflage
- predator
- prey
- Mariana Trench
- Great Barrier Reef
In your school
From the coral reef to the deep sea, without anybody getting wet.
Logistics
What we bring, what you need
We bring
- A fully networked class set of VR headsets
- Our own ocean content, built for primary pupils
- A DBS-checked facilitator to lead every session
- Cleaning and hygiene kit used between every class
You provide
- A school hall or a large, clear indoor space
- A parking space close by to unload equipment
- A member of school staff present in each session
Questions schools ask
Before you book
- Is it suitable for children who cannot swim?
- Entirely. Pupils stay seated in your hall throughout.
- Does it cover plastic pollution?
- Yes, in the final part of the session and pitched appropriately for the age group.
- Can we run it alongside Eco in VR?
- Yes, and the two work well as a paired whole-school day.
- How long is each session?
- Around 45 minutes, with up to six sessions across the day.
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