An informal program in marine science and oceanographic education was started at the Colonial Middle school in 1988. This paper will trace its history through the years, show its expansion to include other schools and the influence of the Maury Project and technology on its present and future direction.
The project started as a field trip to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, covering four days. The trip featured a whale-watching trip, time at the Massachusetts Audobon Sanctuary, field work on the bay and the beach and a number of recreational activities. In 1995, the program was enhanced by the addition of another four-day trip, this time to the Marine Science Consortium in Virginia, and several shorter trips to the Atlantic coast. The highlight of the program was the inclusion of a second group, located at the E. T. Booth Middle School in Marietta, Georgia. With the movement of the teacher from Georgia to
Pennsylvania, the program is expected to continue with students from the Bala Cynwyd Middle School in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. Both programs had
a similar focus but their design was arrived at from different directions.
Since 1994, The Maury Project has added to the concepts and the approach used to select and train students for these programs. Increased emphasis on physical oceanography helped generate an on-going research study involving the measurement of beach profiles.
A website called Seastar, has been developed to allow the sharing of data derived by these classes and also to store any other data modified from anywhere in the world. The web book provides information and data on the beaches measured and gives detailed instructions on how to make the necessary equipment, complete the measurements and modify the data to the site.
Locations of American Meteorological Society programs and other sources are accessible from the web book. They emphasize physical oceanography, such as The Maury Project, but include other related topics such as those through Project Atmosphere, NOAA, NASA and others. A link to a site featuring the Biography of Matthew Fontaine Maury is of particular interest.
The selection process for students, in this unique enrichment program, demonstrates the difficulty and its solution of attempting to identify those who will benefit, regardless of innate abilities. The program now requires students to participate throughout the year in training programs. Those who demonstrate the greatest effort and interest have first choice of the field work in which they would like to participate. The skill level of the students has been impressive, due to the increased training and their understanding of the concepts involved.
The future looks to a greater application of technology and further study of the various concepts based upon the Maury Project modules by the students. The working relationship with these two schools and others is expected to be enhanced. Already, these less formal, enrichment programs are beginning to generate an increased interest among students and a demand for additional education in oceanography at higher levels of secondary education