Oceans to classrooms with national marine sanctuaries

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Sanctuary Program has established an innovative educational and technological framework to bring the excitement of the nation's underwater ecosystems to the American public by linking telepresence activities with system-wide oceanographic monitoring programs. This initiative will revolutionize oceanographic information dissemination by integrating live video camera feeds with diverse data streams. This innovative and growing program uses a technology called "Telepresence." Developed in partnership with the JASON Foundation for Education and the the Sea Research Foundation (SRF)--the parent of Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration, NOAA's framework allows individuals living far from the coastal zone to experience up-close the wonders of these special marine areas without even getting their feet wet. A successful telepresence pilot began operating in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, allowing visitors to the Mystic (Connecticut) Aquarium's "Immersion Theater" to view and operate, in real time, a remotely operated vehicle tethered near a kelp forest. The popular exhibit has introduced thousands of visitors to the underwater wonders of the Monterey Bay ecosystem.