Ocean at Home Resource: The Adventures of Zack & Molly
By Emily Davenport, Education & Outreach Lead, ECOGIG
The Adventures of Zack & Molly
The Adventures of Zack and Molly is a four-part video series (part five is coming in early 2021!) about an unlikely duo exploring the deep ocean produced by ECOGIG in collaboration with Sherman's Lagoon creator and filmmaker Jim Toomey.
“Zack is more interested in the small world of his smartphone than the larger world around him. His online request for a roommate is answered by Molly, a tech-savvy Dumbo Octopus on a mission to tell the world about the importance of the deep ocean. Molly wants to use Zack’s apartment for her global communications headquarters, but Zack is skeptical. To win Zack over, Molly takes him to her deep ocean home in the Gulf of Mexico to see its unique features and diverse marine life, and to help him understand how human activities threaten its health.”
The series has won several awards including, the 2018 Best Animation award at the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, the 2018 Award of Excellence: Nature / Environment / Wildlife at the Best Shorts Competition, the 2019 Award of Merit: Southern Shorts Awards, and the 2019 Award of Distinction: Best Shorts Competition Humanitarian Awards. The Best Shorts Competition recognizes media professionals who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and creativity and contribute to profound social change.
Thirty-three film festivals around the world have showcased and honored the series, including the 2019 Kids Video Connection Children’s Film Festival, the 2019 Columbus International Film Festival, the 2019 International Oceans Film Festival, the 2018 Green Earth Film Festival, the 2018 Miami Short Film Festival, and 2018 Moondance International Film Festival.
Where can I view the series and share it with my students?
The four videos are available in a number of locations—they are on the ECOGIG webpage, on YouTube and on Vimeo. All of the videos are available in a format with Spanish subtitles.
To accompany the videos, there is a learning guide that provides discussion points, connections to Next Generation Science Standards, hands-on activities, and further resources. There is also a Spanish version of this guide available.
Anyone can download and share these videos and the learning guide!
About the director
Jim Toomey is an award-winning cartoonist and filmmaker who created the popular comic strip Sherman’s Lagoon, which appears in over 250 daily newspapers, in 20 countries and six languages. Jim has just completed his 23rd book, published by Andrews McMeel. The strip’s underwater theme explores environmental issues in a way that appeals to adults and children alike. In addition to creating the daily strip, Jim is an award-winning videographer, and has produced videos for the United Nations, the Pew Charitable Trusts and World Resources Institute. His videos feature a blend of animation and live-action that appeals to a broad variety of viewers.
About the Author
Emily Davenport is the Education & Outreach Lead for a grant-funded project called Ecosystem Impacts of Oil and Gas Inputs to the Gulf (ECOGIG), one of several research groups that was formed after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident. It's Emily’s job to share with the public what ECOGIG researchers are learning about the impacts of the oil to the Gulf of Mexico's ecosystem.