The Coral Reef Puppet Show

By Charles, Camille, and Alice

The Issue: What do a clownfish, a blue tang, and a dolphin all have in common? They rely on coral reefs to live. And sadly, they are in trouble because coral reefs around the world are dying. One reason is called ocean acidification, which is what happens when too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes the ocean to get warmer. Find out more about this major problem and how your actions can help protect coral reefs and sea animals. 

SHOW HIDE TRANSCRIPT

>>ALL: Hello, and welcome to a puppet show about the need to help endangered coral reefs.

>>SPEAKER 1: First off, meet a colorful clownfish, a blue tang, and a
random dolphin.

>>SPEAKER 2: You see, before these coral reefs became endangered with all the littering

>>SPEAKER 1: Pollution.

>>SPEAKER 3: And ocean acidification, these animals lived happily.

>>SPEAKER 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wait, what?

>>SPEAKER 3: Ocean acidification.

>>SPEAKER 2: Ocean acidification is when too much carbon dioxide gathers in the ocean, and it acidifies.

>>SPEAKER 3: Ever hear of global warming? Well, carbon dioxide causes something called ocean warming.

>>SPEAKER 2: With all the problems like littering, pollutio

>>SPEAKER 1: And don't forget this ocean acidification.

>>SPEAKER 2: The coral couldn't handle all of it. It became white and crumbly, and animals' source of shelter could not be relied on. This is called coral bleaching.

>>SPEAKER 3: It went from this to this.

>>SPEAKER 1: We and a lot of other people should agree that this problem needs to be fixed.

>>SPEAKER 3: And we can all help. Here's how.

>>SPEAKER 2: Pass on the information that we're giving you. The more people who know, the better.

>>PEAKER 3: Reduce carbon dioxide.

>>SPEAKER 1: By how? Holding my breath?

>>SPEAKER 2: If we all hold our breaths, us and the coral will be gone.

>>SPEAKER 3: True. Thankfully, there are ways
to reduce carbon dioxide. By choosing a bike over a car, planting more trees, and recycling.

[can clattering]

>>SPEAKER 2: So if you like seafood, you better start helping. Because it could be gone soon.

>>SPEAKER 3: Unless we
let nature's coral grow.

>>ALL: With all this in mind, do what you can for the sake of the coral and the animals that need it.

picture of charles, camille and alice with speech bubble that says If you like ocean animals, you should help because they are in danger!
Charles

Charles | Age 10

Favorite plant or animal: My cat (Marshmallow)

Favorite book: The Percy Jackson series

Favorite ice cream flavor: Cookies and cream

Favorite thing to do / hobby: Take a nap / sleep

Favorite place or object in the Museum: Mammalogy Collection

What you like most about science: All stuff that you can relate to it, like science connects to every subject

Advice to kids who think science is boring: Your favorite video game might involve science. For example, in Fortnite, you are learning about making measurements. (And you can convince your mom that by playing some video games, you are learning about science.)

Camille

Camille | Age 10

Favorite plant or animal: Axolotl

Favorite book: Ghost by Raina Telgemeier

Favorite ice cream flavor: Mexican Sinnamon

Favorite thing to do / hobby: Write

Favorite place or object in the Museum: The Unseen Oceans special exhibitiion

What you like most about science: This project!

Advice to kids who think science is boring: Go to AMNH and learn science there.

Alice

Alice | Age 10

Favorite plant or animal: Dogs

Favorite ice cream flavor: Cookie dough

Favorite thing to do / hobby: Piano

Favorite place or object in the Museum: Gift shop

What you like most about science: I like that there is so much to learn and all the time you need.

Advice to kids who think science is boring: There is more to science than what you see. Science is all around you. Sooner or later you should learn about it.

Image credits

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Image Credits:

Sound Credits:

dolphin splashing, AugustSandberg via free sound CC BY-NC 3.0 underwater sound, Fabrizio84 via free sound CC0 1.0;  cartoon boing, reelworldstudio via freesound CC0; boing, juskiddink via freesound CC BY 3.0; bouncing of glass, gezortenplotz via freesound, CC BY 3.0; throw, JustInvoke via freesound CC BY 3.0; forest sounds, BurghRecords via freesound, CC0; can bouncing, nigelcoo p via freesound, CC0;  video game bounce, josepharaoh99 via freesound, CC0; jump, cabled_mess via freesound CC0;