World Sea Turtle Day with Merge EDU

Every year on June 16th, we celebrate World Sea Turtle Day—a time to honor one of Earth’s oldest and most majestic creatures. Sea turtles have roamed our oceans for over 100 million years, surviving mass extinctions and shaping marine ecosystems with quiet resilience.

🐚 A Hands-On Connection to Marine Life

With Merge EDU, learners don’t just read about sea turtles—they can hold them in their hands and place them in the room around them. Using detailed 3D models in Merge EDU, students can examine a sea turtle up close, study its unique shell pattern, and observe a sea turtle fossil, a turtle egg, and a kelp forest, which is a major food source for Green Sea Turtles.

With the Merge Object Viewer app, students can hold a:

Flatback Sea Turtle

The Australian flatback sea turtle (Natator depressus) is a species of sea turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is endemic to the sandy beaches and shallow coastal waters of the Australian continental shelf. This turtle gets its common name from the fact that its shell has a flattened or lower dome than the other sea turtles. It can be olive green to grey with a cream underside. It averages from 76 to 96 cm (30 to 38 inches) in carapace length and can weigh from 70 to 90 kg (154 to 198 lb). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatback_sea_turtle This model is based on

Object Viewer for MERGE Cube

Green Sea Turtle

The green sea turtle is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. Within their geographical range, the green sea turtles generally stay near continental and island coastlines. Near the coastlines, the green sea turtles live within shallow bays and protected shores. In these protected shores and bays, the green sea turtle habitats include coral reefs, salt marshes, and nearshore seagrass beds. The coral reefs provide red, brown, and green algae for their diet and give protection from predators and rough storms within the ocean. The salt marshes and seagrass beds contain seaweed and grass vegetation, allowing ample habitat for the sea turtles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_sea_turtle This model is based on

Object Viewer for MERGE Cube

Sea Turtle Fossil

A fossilized sea-turtle from the Eocene age about 55.8 to 33.9 million years ago.

Object Viewer for MERGE Cube

Turtle Egg

Like other reptiles, turtles lay eggs that are slightly soft and leathery. Large numbers of eggs are deposited in holes dug into mud or sand. They are then covered and left to incubate by themselves. Depending on the species, the eggs will typically take 70–120 days to hatch. The eggs of the largest species are spherical while the eggs of the rest are elongated. Their albumen is white and contains a different protein from bird eggs, such that it will not coagulate when cooked. Turtle eggs prepared to eat consist mainly of yolk. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle

Object Viewer for MERGE Cube

Kelp Forest

Kelp forests are under water areas with a high density of kelp, which covers a large part of the world’s coastlines. They are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Earth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelp_forest

Object Viewer for MERGE Cube

These hands-on experiences can deepen understanding and spark empathy—critical elements in any conservation story.

🌎 A Keystone Species

Sea turtles are a keystone species that help maintain healthy seagrass beds and coral reefs, which in turn support countless other marine creatures. Yet today, all sea turtle species face threats from pollution and habitat destruction.

By letting students see and explore turtles in 3D, Merge EDU helps make their importance feel tangible—and their protection more urgent.

🐢 Hold a sea turtle. Hold a future worth saving.

👉 Start exploring at trymerge.com and get a Merge Paper Cube at mergeedu.com/paper.