In 1994, the American Meteorological Society in conjunction with the United States Naval Academy initiated the Maury Project. This unique partnership provides a teacher enhancement program that focuses on the physical foundations of oceanography. In its eight-year tenure, over 200 educators from kindergarten through university levels have attended one of its two-week summer workshops at the U.S. Naval Academy. This paper summarizes how the Maury Project promotes the study of the ocean environment.

The unique feature of the Maury Project is its focus on physical processes. Most teacher enhancement programs in oceanography have a strong biological component. Teachers who attend the Maury Project summer workshops are provided with a learning experience that enables them to understand the structure and dynamics of the oceans and methods for determining its physical properties. They learn about the agencies that are involved with oceanic research and operational activity and why the oceans are important to these agencies. In addition, resource materials in the form of modules are provided to the workshop participants so they can conduct workshops for their peers. These peer-training sessions have been a highly effective mechanism to distribute instructional materials to teachers both nationally and internationally. Modules include such topics as density-driven circulation systems, shallow ocean water waves, ocean sound and El Niņo. To date, approximately 1200 Maury peer-training sessions have reached over 20000 teachers both nationally and internationally.

This presentation will examine the partnership comprised of a professional society, a university, scientific and operational agencies working as colleagues with the precollege educational structure. The Maury Project provides an excellent model for enhancing the study of the ocean environments, with an emphasis on the physical properties and processes of the world's oceans.