Interested in bringing horseshoe crab education to your classroom? Then look no further- we have compiled everything you need to teach about horseshoe crabs, including fun activities, educational videos, and additional resources. 

Green Eggs and Sand, DNREC: Learn about the relationship between horseshoe crabs and migratory birds through this 4-module curriculum for middle and high school students. Attend a workshop to get introduced to the modules and get access to teach them in your classroom.

Young Voices: Horseshoe Crabs and the Arts Competition: Students in grades K-12 from around the world are invited to submit artwork and written expressions about the horseshoe crab. The competition starts each year in September with a submission deadline of June 15th.

Just like other species, horseshoe crabs rely on clean water and a healthy habitat in order to survive and reproduce successfully. Consider how your actions could have an impact on the environment for horseshoe crabs and what you can do to make it better: 

• Plan a cleanup in your neighborhood, near a local waterway or on the beach. Litter on the street, in a park, or near your school can get blown into a creek or enter a storm drain and make its way to the river. Locally, these waterways all eventually make their way to the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean, where horseshoe crabs live. By cleaning up the environment upstream, you are positively impacting the environment of horseshoe crabs that live downstream. 
• Plant a rain garden or another type of green infrastructure. In areas with a high percentage of impervious surfaces, such as cities, stormwater runoff is a significant and growing issue. During a rain event, water rushes over these impervious surfaces, picking up motor oil, sediment, dog waste, and other pollutants. After traveling through storm drains, this polluted water enters waterways and eventually makes its way to the ocean. By increasing green space near the source of stormwater, including through rain gardens or other types of green infrastructure, we can reduce the pollutants entering rivers and oceans, therefore improving the habitats of horseshoe crabs and other living creatures. 
• Reduce use of items with microplastics. Microplastics can be found in certain cosmetic and beauty products, synthetic clothing such as polyester, and other plastic products, including bags and bottles. Through regular use, cleaning, and disposal, these products release tiny particles of plastic into the water supply that can be easily ingested by aquatic organisms, including horseshoe crabs. These microplastics may take longer for the animal to digest, can actually be absorbed into the animal tissue, and be incorporated by predators when lower trophic level species are consumed. Reducing use of plastic items, or eliminating them altogether, can improve water quality and protect aquatic organisms. 
• Just Flip ‘Em: Since 1998, the Just Flip ‘Em Campaign has worked to educate beach goers that when they see a horseshoe crab on its back, to flip it over. Learn more about this campaign and what has made it a successful stewardship project. Consider different ways you could share this message with others, including a poster project, PSA, or letter writing campaign.