DISL’s Discovery Hall Programs (DHP) provides professional learning opportunities for teachers and nonformal educators through virtual and onsite single-day and multi-day workshops.
Workshops include experiences outside in the field, science content, discussions with experts including Sea Lab faculty, and relevant lesson plans and hands-on activities to take back to the classroom or learning environment.
Workshops are developed with the Alabama Course of Study standards and Ocean Literacy Principles, in mind, ensuring that they remain relevant to educators’ teaching needs.
As an AMSTI Affiliate, all DHP workshops provide professional development hours for maintaining teacher certification. Select workshops offer graduate credit through the University of West Alabama for educators pursuing advanced degrees.
DHP also offers a variety of educational resources for informal and formal educators. Visit our Educational Resources page to view these materials.
Upcoming Workshops
Alabama’s Biodiverse Coast - Explore place-based education on the Gulf coast this summer!
June 28-July 2, 2026
Register
This workshop will exemplify place-based education taking you to see firsthand our many coastal habitats- exploring Mobile Bay, Mississippi Sound, salt marshes, a maritime forest, sandy beaches, nearshore habitats and visit the Alabama Aquarium.
Ocean STEM: Integrating physical, earth and biological sciences using ocean examples
July 12-16, 2026
Register
Join Discovery Hall Programs educators and Sea Lab scientists this summer for an introduction to oceanography looking at the ocean in an interdisciplinary way that integrates biology, physical science, and earth science.
Prior Workshops
NOAA Ocean Exploration Oases of Life
March 7, 2026
Are you a STEM educator looking to bring the excitement and mystery of the deep-sea alive in your classroom? Register today for the Oases of Life: Seamounts and Deep-Sea Corals Professional Development workshop offered by NOAA Ocean Exploration at the Southern Research (Birmingham, AL) in partnership with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab on March 7, 8:30-4 pm. During this full-day, in-person workshop you will learn about the geologic and physical processes associated with seamounts and the rich biological communities that inhabit them while diving into hands-on lessons and activities, exploring additional resources to use in your classroom, and connecting with fellow educators throughout this exciting professional development. Participating educators will also receive a $100 stipend and Certificate of Participation.
Observations from GRACE: Climate Variation and the Water Cycle (virtual)
February 24, 2026
Dive into NASA’s Gravity, Recovery and Climate Experiment-Follow On (GRACE-FO) Satellite mission to expand student understanding of the water cycle in your classroom! Explore data generated by GRACE-FO, meet a scientific expert and examine the relationship between the water cycle and rising global temperatures. Interactive lessons and games included.
STEAMy Sea Level Science: Bringing art into data interpretation (virtual)
This virtual workshop uses inexpensive hands-on lessons to introduce sea level rise basics. The workshop will last 90 minutes (1.5 contact hours) and is limited to 25 participants.
CALAMAR! - Curriculum for AlabamA Marine Science!
June 15-19, 2025
Do you teach high school level marine science? Join us at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab to explore ways to strengthen your high school marine science curriculum, network with fellow teachers, and immerse yourself in marine science while in marine environments!
Build a SeaPerch ROV: A Virtual STEM Workshop
Are you interested in building a ROV but could use a bit of help? This 3 session virtual workshop will lead you through constructing a fully functional ROV. There is also an in-person optional day to fly your newly built ROV in the DISL campus pool.
Go ROVing!
Join us in person to explore bringing ROVs into your classroom or learning environment and learn about our new ROV loaner classroom kit.
Time traveling through our coastal history using seashells: A STEAM approach
Empty shells preserved in sand and mud on the seafloor offer a lens into past environments, allowing scientists to “time travel” to coastal environments long before the Industrial Revolution. Join us this year to explore the environmental history of Alabama’s coastal waters.
Change and resilience in Gulf of Mexico environments
Alabama’s environments seem to be experiencing stress on a number of fronts, but efforts are being made to improve our collective resilience. Join us to investigate these stresses - hearing from scientists, visiting local areas experiencing change, exploring classroom activities that address weather, climate, biodiversity, and more in coastal areas and discussing solutions and adaptations to change you can share with your learners.
Exploring STEM in the Ocean
Immerse yourself in ocean STEM in this free multi-day workshop. Experience using ocean technologies in the field, learn from scientists, and explore hands-on classroom activities.
Plankton in 3D: A Virtual Teacher Workshop
Plankton are found in both marine and freshwater environments making the content and activities of this workshop applicable to aquatic environments everywhere. This virtual workshop includes the who, whats, and whys of plankton. Participants will receive a supply kit for use in their teaching environments.