Sea Lab Marine Science Education Center

Initiatives for 2007-2008

• Academic Year Sea Lab Program – the Academic Year Sea Lab Program began as an initiative during the fall of 2001. The purpose of this program was to present marine related, hands-on, inquiry based, core curricula to all New Bedford Public School grade five students. Over 2,000 grade five students visit Sea Lab during the school year and matriculate through various modules focusing on Earth Science, Life Science, Physical Science, and Technology. Students learning experiences are aligned to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and feature project based activities. Subject matter includes meteorology, limnology, hydrology, meteorology, geology, seismology, biology and marine related activities.

• “Adopt A Shoreline” In conjunction with the Buzzards Bay coalition's "Adopt A Shoreline" Program - New Bedford Public School students who visit Sea Lab the third week of every month will maintain the shoreline from Nina Street north to Sea View Street — this activity will correspond with a mollusk identification activity.

• EPA Collaborative – Sea Lab personnel, the Environmental Protection Agency and Lloyd Center personnel have formed a collaborative with the purpose of delivering a series of professional development programs for area educators entitled “Fish Smart”. This campaign has been on-going since 2005. Eight professional development workshops have been given on Biomagnification and Bioaccumulation of PCB’s digested by area fauna. Inquiry based, hands-on lessons have been developed and disseminated to area educators • Professional Development - Sea Lab personnel offer Professional Development Opportunities to New Bedford Public Schools as well as area educators four to six times annually. Topic instruction includes Earth and Space Science, Life Sciences, Physical Science, and Science and Technology. Specialized units focusing on the Properties of Water, such as Density, Buoyancy, and Surface Tension, the Water cycle, Flora and Fauna indigenous to the North Atlantic region and Meteorology are also course offerings.

• Investigative Research – On-going investigative research focusing on the morphology and systematic zoology of a Pre-Cambrian crustacean known as the “Hampsonellus”, discovered by George Hampson, Oceanographer Emeritus WHOI, in Buzzards Bay, continues with Dr. Stefan Richter from Fridrich-Shiller Universitat in Jena, Germany and Dr. Gonzalo Giribert from Harvard University, Boston, MA. This international team’s research began in 2005 and additional Buzzards Bay specimens will be collected during the Fall of 2007. DNA will be extracted from this cephalocarida for future research and analysis of the Precambrian creature’s nervous system.

• The Boston College Educational Seismology Program - The Boston College Educational Seismology Program sponsored by the Weston Observatory, Department of Geology and Geophysics, Boston College, will enter its third year affiliation with the New Bedford Public Schools at Sea Lab. An AS-1 seismograph based at Sea Lab records earthquakes worldwide affording NBPS students the opportunity to view and interact in real time science. Over 500 NBPS students have participated in the BC ESP Seismology and Earth Science ten week course which stresses observation, analyzing, and plotting earthquakes. A Weston Observatory, Boston College, seismologist is based at Sea Lab one day per week with the purpose of instructing NBPS grade five students. An AS – 2 Seismograph, an update of the AS-1, will be installed at Sea Lab during the 2007-2008 Academic Year.

• The Weston Observatory 2007-2008 Colloquium Series – The Department of Geology and Geophysics, Boston College, presents the Colloquium Series at the Weston Observatory, www.bc.edu/westonobservatory, Weston, Massachusetts. Timely scientific tops will be presented by internationally renowned scientists in the fields of geology and geophysics. There will be a tour of the Weston Observatory on June 18, 2008.

• Boating Safety Course – The US Coast Guard Auxiliary, Westport Flotilla 6-18, and the Massachusetts Environmental Police continue to offer a boating safety course to NBPS grade five and grade five Advanced Learning students. This course will run concurrently with the Sea Lab academic year program. It is a 7 week course, one morning weekly (90 minutes), and culminates with the students receiving a boating license. The course is repetitive and is offered to eight grade five classes during the school year. Additionally, a Community Safe Boating Course will be offered at Sea Lab during the Fall and Spring. Advertisements in appropriate media will be announced regarding the public education classes.

• MIT Sea Perch ROV – the MIT Sea Grant’s Sea Perch Program introduces pre-college students to the wonders of underwater robotics. The Sea Perch Program trains teachers and students how to build the Sea Perch, an underwater remotely operated vehicle, ROV, made of PVC, plastic pipe. With a marine education theme, this project teaches basic skills in ship and submarine design and encourages students to explore naval architecture and marine and ocean engineering concepts. Grade five Advanced Learning students with the help of Geodesy Students from the Greater Regional Vocational Technical High School will build several “Sea Perch”. The ROV will participate in open water dives at East Beach, New Bedford, Massachusetts.

• The MIT Sea Star Surface Craft Project Initiative – The MIT Sea Star Surface Craft Project initiative introduces students to the basic concepts of hull design and related concepts, such as buoyancy, center of gravity, center of buoyancy, drag, etc. Foam is used to form the hull and students experiment with their “Sea Star” incorporating various designed hulls. The motor and radio controls are moved from one hull to another to test various speeds, dynamics, and economy. The “Sea Star” initiative is schedule for implementation during the spring of 2008.