Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

Ocean Interactions
Ocean and Atmosphere connecting Scientists, Teachers & Students

Ocean Interactions, 2003 Cruise

This ship-to shore interactive project was created in the fall of 2003 to increase ocean science education opportunities for land-locked students and educators in the Interior West and beyond. A pilot of successful ship-based researcher/classroom partnerships was run in from October to December 2003 for 8 volunteer schools across the United States.

Dr. Susan Buhr and Tamara Palmer of the CIRES Outreach program collaborated with Dr. Jeff Hare from CIRES and NOAA's Environmental Technology Laboratory to develop the program and implement it. Ocean-going CIRES and NOAA researchers study phenomena as diverse as ocean floor seismology, air-sea interface, climate change and ocean dynamics; the educational interests of these researchers present opportunities for research and education integration. We have responded to this need and these opportunities by creating a successful research/education partnership project for new high school and junior high school student audiences.

The pilot project was begun during Dr. Hare's 2003 cruise through the Panama Canal to the equatorial TAO/PACS buoys on board the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown. CIRES Outreach staff developed a web presence, arranged pre-cruise visits between Jeff and local classrooms, and managed ship-to-shore communications and postings. Dr. Hare provided content for the web site, visited local classrooms and interacted with students while at sea. This contains photo journal areas describing the science on the cruise, the ship, life at sea, staff and scientists on board, an active map showing the progress of the ship, and weekly question and answer sessions. Classrooms that participated were from Colorado, California, and Pennsylvania. Important learning goals included increased awareness of ocean sciences careers and an understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of ship-based research. Once a week, students posed questions on a wide range of topics, ranging from simple "what do you do for fun on ship" questions to "how did you get to do what you do" and "we were wondering if underwater volcanoes, earthquakes and black smokers have any affect on the instruments you use in your experiments". Prior to the cruise, CIRES Outreach arranged an in-port visit by a San Diego teacher and his students, wherein students toured the ship and learned about the science that takes place there.

[ source: http://www.etl.noaa.gov/about/hotitems/2004/040128.html ]