Nurdle Patrol

About This Project

Summary

OCEAN Kids: Nurdle Patrol is a free, audio limited series — produced in both English and Spanish — for grades 3–5 that positions students as "Secret Agent" citizen scientists investigating nurdle plastic pollution. Each episode is paired with hands-on activities and interactive assignments, culminating in a citizen science project. The series combines immersive audio storytelling, rich sound design, and a complete standards-aligned curriculum that extends learning beyond the classroom.

Goals & Objectives

Demonstrate the effectiveness of a podcast course in building students' knowledge, fostering environmental stewardship, connecting their work to broader citizen science, identifying data patterns, and proposing solutions to local nurdle pollution.

Results & Impact

External evaluation findings confirmed that OCEAN Kids: Nurdle Patrol was highly effective in building student knowledge, creating deep engagement, and fostering environmental stewardship. Across a pilot reaching 280+ students, it proves that well-designed audio can be a powerful classroom tool.