The NESS Mobile Classroom
Beep Beep! We're proud to introduce The NESS Mobile Classroom - a dynamic, mobile STEM education platform bringing ocean-based experiential learning to your community.
Making Learning Mobile, Inclusive, & Engaging
Powered by the City of New London
Designed to reach students and families where they are, the NESS Mobile Classroom delivers hands-on learning in marine science, adventure education, and environmental stewardship throughout New London County. Whether we’re parked outside a school, library, park, or community center, our goal is to spark curiosity and inspire lifelong learners through immersive, high-quality educational experiences.
Breaking Barriers to Education
By going mobile, NESS removes geographic and socioeconomic barriers to STEM education. The Mobile Classroom ensures all learners have access to the tools, technology, and engaging instruction they need to succeed.
Inside the Classroom on Wheels
Outfitted with state-of-the-art learning tools - including a smartboard, microscopes, whiteboard workstations, and a wash station with running water - NESS's Mobile Classroom is ready to roll into any community and ignite a passion for learning.
Join NESS on the Road to Discovery
Together with the City of New London, NESS is empowering students with ocean-based experiential education. We're not waiting for students to come to us; we're bringing the classroom to them.
One Year of Learning on the Move:
Celebrating the NESS Mobile Classroom
In the Spring of 2025, NESS launched the Mobile Classroom with an ambitious vision: to bring hands-on ocean education directly into communities across southeastern Connecticut and Rhode Island.
With goals of serving more than 1,500 students and families, partnering with multiple school districts, and delivering engaging lessons focused on oysters and local watersheds, the program has already made an incredible impact.
Much of that success is thanks to the dedication of our AmeriCorps members and educators, whose energy and leadership have brought these programs to life!
1,479+ Students
Since June 2025, the NESS Mobile Classroom has reached more than 1,479 students and families across the region.
Outfitted with heat and air conditioning, a smart board, accessible microscopes, and wall-to-wall whiteboards, the Mobile Classroom has quickly become a favorite destination for students, educators, and parents alike.
From children eagerly pulling their families aboard to share what they’ve learned to parents snapping photos as students launch “plankton” out the famous service window, the excitement surrounding the Mobile Classroom has been impossible to miss.
375+ Square Miles
In its first year, the NESS Mobile Classroom has traveled approximately 375 square miles throughout Connecticut and Rhode Island, building connections with communities near and far.
NESS has partnered with the Norwich and Groton Public School systems through community events while continuing to expand programming with New London Public Schools and longtime community partners.
The Mobile Classroom has traveled as far as Coventry, RI, where students explored the wonders of oysters, and to Eastern Connecticut State University’s Child & Family Development Center in Willimantic, CT, where our youngest learners discovered the microscopic world of plankton.
1 Year of Impact
As the program continues to grow, NESS remains committed to measuring its impact and documenting how ocean-based education strengthens both knowledge and character.
With expanded programming and new opportunities ahead, the Mobile Classroom is poised to reach even more students in Year 2.
What began as an idea to bring learning beyond the classroom walls has become something even greater: a vehicle for curiosity, connection, and discovery, one community at a time.
