This year’s Georgia Association of Marine Education (GAME) conference will be held on November 10 - 12, 2023 on Jekyll Island. GAME is a state chapter of the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA) and membership includes both formal and informal educators.  

Discover how to connect natural phenomena to the classroom through citizen science. Citizen science is an integral part of data collection for many researchers and can be utilized by both formal and informal educators.

CONFERENCE AGENDA

Friday, November 10

3:00 PM - Guided tour of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center

4:00 - 5:00 PM - Registration/Check in at MOSAIC Tack Room

5:00 - 6:00 PM - Mix and Mingle Fun

6:00 PM - Conference kick off

6:15 PM - Dinner

6:45 PM - Keynote speaker: Amanda Buice, Executive Director, Georgia Youth Science & Technology Centers, Inc.

Saturday, November 11

8:30 AM. - Registration/Check In at Jekyll Beachview Club Hotel and Ballroom

9:15 AM - Opening Remarks

9:30 - 11:30 AM - Citizen Science Panel 

• Sea Level Rise Project - Jill Gambill, Executive Director and Senior Research Associate for the Coastal Equity and Resilience (CEAR) Hub, Institute for People and Technology, Georgia Tech
  
• Invasive Species - Yank Moore, Director of Conservation, Jekyll Island Authority
• Birds - Diana Churchill, birder of many feathers

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM -  “Tidepool” sessions - 5 minutes/5 slides presentation (activity, citizen science app, etc.)

12:30 - 1:30 PM - Lunch and member board meeting

1:45 PM - 4:00 PM - Concurrent Sessions 

• 1:45 - 2:20 - Concurrent Session 1
• 2:30 - 3:05 - Concurrent Session 2
• 3:15 - 3:50 - Concurrent Session 3 

4:00 - 5:15 - Field trips or Free Time

• Shark tooth beach
  
• Horton Pond (Birds and/or Alligators)

5:30 - 6:30 P.M. - Happy hour and silent auction begins (MOSAIC Tack Room)

6:30 - Dinner

7:30 - Silent auction ends and winners announced

8:00 - Live auction begins

Sunday, November 12

9:00 A.M - Field Trips (3 options)

• Adopt-a-Stream training and certification - Camp Jekyll 
• Tidelands Nature Center - Kayaking ($50)
• Maritime forest - Botany and birding exploration
  

REGISTRATION Early Bird ends October 20, 2023

FULL Registration: $135 ($85 for student and seasonal educator)

Includes:  One year of GAME membership, 2023 GAME conference favor, meals (Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast/lunch/dinner), all Saturday sessions, and field experiences

After the October 20th deadline cost is $150

FIELD TRIPS

Friday's Field Trip - 3:00 (included with registration)

Guided tour of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center

Saturday’s Choose Your Own Adventure Options (included with registration)

Exploration of Horton Pond

Exploration of Shark Tooth Beach

Sunday Morning’s Choose Your Own Adventure Options - 9:00 AM

Birding and maritime forest walk (included)

Adopt a Stream training at Camp Jekyll (included)

Kayaking with Tidelands Nature Center ($50 - paid at Tidelands)

LODGING

Jekyll Beachview Club Hotel https://www.beachviewclubjekyll.com

• Call for group rate at 912-635-2256 by October 9th
• Register here https://bit.ly/GAMENov2023

LOCATION

The 2023 Georgia Association of Marine Education (GAME) conference will take place at the MOSAIC https://www.jekyllisland.com/history/museum/   (Friday and Saturday night) and the Jekyll Island Beachview Club Hotel and Ballroom https://www.beachviewclubjekyll.com (Saturday) on Jekyll Island. 

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

We invite people to submit proposals for our concurrent sessions Saturday afternoon of our conference. They can be a presentation, hands-on session, or an outdoor/field session related to phenomenon based learning and citizen science. Please submit proposals by September 30, as presenters will be notified by October 15. Here is the proposal form:

Call for Proposal Application

SCHOLARSHIPS

GAME is pleased to again offer three scholarships to interested registrants. Please submit applications on or before September 30th.  Recipients will be notified by October 15.  For more information about these available funds, please visit the following link:

Scholarship Application Form

AWARDS

Know someone who should be nominated for a GAME award?                                 Nominate them by October 20!

• Outstanding Marine Educator of the Year – Recognizes a GAME member who has practiced outstanding teaching of marine topics. Nominee must be a current member of GAME and have taught in grades K-12 for a minimum of three years.

• Millie Graham Award -  Given to a GAME member who has provided service above and beyond the call of duty to GAME or the marine environment. This award is presented to an informal educator, college instructor, or citizen who actively promotes marine awareness in his or her job and/or community. Nominee must be a current member of GAME.