Instructions
Let's learn about Marie Tharp, a wonderful scientist who mapped the ocean floor! Follow the activities below to see how she made her amazing discovery.
Activity 1: What's at the Bottom of the Sea?
Marie Tharp was a scientist who wanted to draw a map of the whole ocean floor. Before her, no one had ever seen it all! What do you think is down there?
In the box below, draw what you imagine is at the bottom of the deep, deep ocean. Are there fish? Plants? Sunken treasure? Hidden mountains?
[ Draw your picture here ]
Activity 2: PING! Tracing Sound
Marie used sound to "see" the ocean floor. Ships sent "pings" of sound down to the bottom. The sound would bounce back up! This told her how deep the water was.
Help the sound travel from the ship to the mountain and back again. Use your crayon or pencil to trace the dotted line.
Ship 🛥️
.
.
.
.
.
Mountain ⛰️
Activity 3: Drawing with Numbers
Marie turned long lists of numbers into pictures. Each number told her if a spot was deep or shallow. Let's try it!
Start at the star (★) and connect the dots in order from 1 to 9. What shape did you make?
5 •
• 4 • 6
• 3 • 7
• 2 • 8
★ 1 • • 9
Activity 4: A Seam on the Earth
Marie discovered a huge line of mountains under the ocean! She said it looked like the seam on a baseball. This was a very important discovery.
Below is a simple map. Trace the dotted line in the middle of the ocean to draw the amazing mountain range Marie found.
+-----------------------------------------+
| LAND | OCEAN | LAND |
| | . | |
| | . | |
| | . | |
| | . | |
| | . | |
| | . | |
| LAND | OCEAN | LAND |
+-----------------------------------------+
Answer Key
Activity 1: Your drawing is unique and wonderful! Great job imagining the ocean floor.
Activity 2: You should have traced a line from the ship down to the mountain.
Activity 3: You discovered a mountain! When you connect the dots, it makes a mountain shape.
5 •
/ \
• 4 ----- • 6
/ \
• 3 • 7
/ \
• 2 • 8
/ \
★ 1 •---------------------• 9
Activity 4: You should have traced a line going down the middle of the "OCEAN" section of the map.