High School Volunteer Course

High School Volunteer Course | March 2026

Interested in this course? Email us at [email protected]

Course curriculum

1. Welcome
2. Daily Programme
3. WhatsApp Group
4. Aquarium Philosophy
1. Incorporating our Vision and Mission into the Touch-pool and Microscope displays.
2. 1. How to use the microscope
3. 2. Upper classroom microscope
4. 3. Lower classroom microscope
5. 4. Microscope exhibit
6. 5. Stay calm and focus
7. Rubric for Touch pool and Microscope oral assesssment
1. 1 GENERAL INFORMATION
2. ACTIVITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF ALL VOLUNTEERS
3. 3 VOLUNTEER TRAINING
4. BENEFITS & INCENTIVES PROVIDED FOR ALL ACTIVE VOLUNTEERS
5. VOLUNTEER BILL OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
6. ATTENDANCE POLICY
7. DRESS AND APPEARANCE POLICY
8. SEPARATION POLICY
9. 10 VOLUNTEERS’ ROOM
10. 11 VOLCOM
11. 12 CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION
12. 13.1 DISCIPLINE
13. 14 EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
1. Two Oceans of South Africa and its Diversity
2. South Africa’s coast is influenced by two major currents
3. Differences between the three main coastal regions
4. A. Kwa-zulu Natal Province – East coast: Marine life is diverse and colourful
5. B. Agulhas province- South Coast: The intermediate region
6. C. Namaqua Province – West Coast: Vast numbers, but few species
7. How the South African climate and hence vegetation is affected by the ocean currents
8. Red Tide
9. Understanding the Two Oceans
1. Tides
2. Abiotic and biotic factors
3. Intertidal Zonation
4. Cape Town Tide Times
5. Rocky Shore Ecology & Zonation incl. Tides
1. Why is classification important?
2. Creating Order of a living world
3. Scientific Names
4. Naming Nature
5. Classification
1. Key concepts:
2. Introduction
3. Seaweeds
1. Green Algae
2. Uses of Green Algae
1. Examples of Brown Algae
2. Brown Algae: Kelp
3. Kelp Forest Structure and foodwebs
4. Uses of Brown Algae
1. Red Algae
2. Uses of Red Algae
3. Cooking and Eating seaweed
1. Key concepts
2. Meaning of biological terms
1. Phylum: Porifera
2. Porifera
1. Key characteristics
2. Cnidaria classes
3. Sea Anemones
4. Coral
5. Coral bleaching
6. Jellyfish
7. Hydroids
8. Bluebottles
1. Flatworms
2. Flatworm moving
1. Peanut worms
2. Peanut worm under a microscope
1. Characteristics
2. Class Polychaeta
3. Free Living worms
4. Sedentary Worms
1. Characteristics
2. BRINE SHRIMP (Artemia salina)
3. How to culture brine shrimp
4. Class: Picnogonida : Sea spiders
5. Subphylum: Crustacea
6. Class Cirripedia: Barnacles
7. Isopods and Amphipods
8. Hermit Crabs
9. Crabs
10. Rock Lobsters
1. Moss or Lace animals
2. bryozoa.pdf
1. Characteristics
2. Mollusca Classes
3. Class Polyplacophora :Chitons
4. Class Bivalvia
5. Class Gastropod : Slugs and snails
6. Winkles
7. Limpets
8. Abalone, perlemoen and ear shells
9. Whelks
10. Cowries
11. Slugs and snails ( Nudibranchs =naked +gills)
12. Class Cephalopoda
13. Octopus
14. Cuttlefish
15. Paper Nautilus (Argonauta argo)
16. mollusca RSB course .pdf
1. Characteristics
2. Echinoderm classes
3. Class: Asteroidea - Starfish or Seastars
4. Class: Ophiuroidea - Brittlestar
5. Class Echinoidea- Sea Urchin
6. Class: Holothuroidea - Sea cucumber
7. Class: Crinoidea - featherstars
8. Echinoderms Rocky FOH volunteers.pdf
1. Subphylum: Urochordata
2. Class: Ascidacea - Sea squirts( tunicates)
3. 13. Chordates.pdf
1. Fish groups
2. Cartilagenous Fish
3. Bony Fish
1. Introduction
2. (H) Habitat Destruction
3. (I) Invasive alien species
4. P(Pollution)
5. (P) Population increase
6. (O) Overexploitation of Resources
7. What can we do to mitigate some of these impacts?
1. Post course evaluation

About this course

125 lessons
0.5 hours of video content

Instructor(s)

Senior Teacher Anzio Abels

Meet Anzio Abels, the course coordinator for our Smart Living & Marine Sciences Explorer courses, but also an outreach teacher, tech wiz and all-round helpful guy. He studied Biodiversity and Conservation Biology at the University of the Western Cape, with electives in Environmental and Water Sciences. He has a keen interest in the natural world and the human-nature interaction, with a focus on conservation and environmental awareness.

Head of Core Education Programmes Chanelle Naidoo

I am a teacher at the Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation. I studied environmental and geographical science and sociology in my undergrad, and Geography in my postgrad. I totally love learning and love sharing all the weird and wonderful things about our beautiful natural world.