Public Lectures

Lab researchers speak in the community, at diving clubs, in schools and at local authorities, bringing marine research to the people who are in the sea every day.

About the programme

Public lectures are a standing part of the lab's activity. Over the years we have given dozens of sessions in kibbutzim, community centres, diving and sailing clubs, schools and local authorities along the coast. Every talk is based on research findings collected here, and is presented in plain language without giving up scientific accuracy.

The aim is twofold: to explain what is actually happening in the Mediterranean, and to give the audience practical tools, from species identification to correct sting treatment and sighting reports. Many sessions end in a long question period, and often in local observations that feed back into the research.

Who we speak to

Community groups and residents

Evening talks in kibbutzim, community centres and beach clubs, usually open to all ages and followed by a long question session.

Divers, swimmers and sea users

Sessions at diving clubs and sailing clubs focus on identification in the water, sting risk and safe practice around gelatinous animals.

Municipalities and professional bodies

Briefings for local authorities, lifeguard services and industry on bloom forecasting, coastal impacts and practical response.

Schools and academic audiences

Age-adapted lectures for pupils and students, often linked to the jellyfish citizen science reporting programme.

Frequent topics

The life cycle of Rhopilema nomadica, from polyp to adult medusa
Why jellyfish blooms form, and which human drivers contribute to them
Identification of common Mediterranean species, including the Portuguese man of war
Stinging cells, sting treatment and evidence based first aid
Microplastics in the sea and what happens to plastic in the water column
How to report a sighting and how public reports become research data

From the field

A researcher presenting a Hebrew diagram of the human drivers of jellyfish blooms in the sea — Human drivers of jellyfish blooms, presented to a community audience.

An indoor audience watching a slide of the jellyfish life cycle with Hebrew labels — An indoor talk on the jellyfish life cycle.

A researcher speaking outdoors beside a projected slide of the Rhopilema nomadica life cycle — An open air lecture explaining how the medusa develops from a polyp.

A large seated audience under a canopy at an evening community lecture — An evening community lecture with a full audience.

A talk at a diving club, with air tanks in the foreground and a slide about jellyfish fossils — A session at a diving club on jellyfish through geological time.

A slide showing a Portuguese man of war at the sea surface during a public lecture — Identifying the Portuguese man of war, a colony rather than a single animal.

Interested in a lecture for your community, club or organization? Please write to us individually through the contact page, with your group's details, location and preferred date.