August 27, 2003 — Since its inception in 1990, the NOAA Teacher at Sea Program has offered elementary school through college educators around the country the opportunity to see NOAA’s exciting scientific research first hand. After successfully passing the pilot phase of the program, NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations expanded the program to include more teachers and greater educational opportunities. Over the last 13 years, more than 325 teachers have participated in the program — representing 46 states, American Samoa and Argentina.

Not only has the number of applicants and teachers participating in the program significantly increased over the last decade, but recognition for the program has reached national proportions. When Rear Admiral Evelyn Fields was appointed as NMAO director in 1999, she recognized that the NOAA Teacher at Sea Program had potential to reach even greater numbers of students and educators and serve as a means through which to promote NOAA’s overall mission. Therefore in 2001, RADM Fields supported a partnership between NOAA’s Teacher at Sea Program, the NOAA Office of Global Programs, and the National Science Foundation in an effort to further expand and enhance the program. Not only was the partnership a tremendous success, but it opened up greater opportunities for both teachers and students to obtain financial sponsorship, access to daily Webcasts and live broadcasts from NOAA ships, partake in distance learning opportunities and gain day-to-day interaction with students and teachers from around the world.

Mission
The NOAA Teacher at Sea Program mission is to provide teachers with the opportunity to gain clearer insight into our ocean planet and a greater understanding of maritime work and studies. By studying the ocean environment, teachers will begin to understand the enormous influence it has on their lives and on the world. Likewise, by participating in maritime activities, teachers gain a greater appreciation for the work and skill needed to support ocean research. Fueled with this new knowledge, teachers are more likely to engage their students in educational activities geared toward the science of the sea.

NOAA Ships Participating in the Teach at Sea Program
Teachers may select a cruise aboard one of NOAA’s 15 participating ships:

Fisheries research vessels perform biological and physical science studies in support of fisheries research. Oceanographic and coastal research vessels perform physical science studies in support of physical oceanography, atmospheric studies and bathymetric mapping. Hydrographic survey vessels scan the coastal sea floor with side-scan sonar and sophisticated bottom sounding systems to determine least depths and to locate submerged obstructions and navigational hazards for the creation or updating of the nation’s nautical charts. It is advised that teachers wishing to participate in the program carefully consider the ship's activities when selecting a cruise — you are likely to gain more from the experience when the research activities bear some relation to your own interests.

The ships are based at one of the two Marine Operations Centers in Norfolk, Va., and Seattle, Wash., or at one of the five port offices located in Woods Hole, Mass., Charleston, S.C., Pascagoula, Miss., San Diego, Calif., and Honolulu, Hawaii. For information about the ships and mission descriptions, visit the ships page. General Shipboard Policy Information contains useful information about ship policies, procedures, drills, etc. Some individual ship's pages also have further information for visiting scientists about life aboard. One site supported by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center has a very useful manual for cruise volunteers and first-time sailors about life at sea.

Program Benefits for All
The NOAA Teacher at Sea Program is dedicated to fostering an interdisciplinary educational experience that provides a unique environment for both learning and teaching. The enthusiasm for learning generated between teachers and students is the biggest payoff of NOAA’s Teacher at Sea program. Teachers can enrich their classroom curricula with a depth of understanding only made possible by living and working side-by-side, day and night, with those who contribute to the world’s body of scientific knowledge. Their enthusiasm and knowledge is then passed to their students, perhaps sparking interest in pursuing careers in marine science. Many teachers who have taken advantage of the program have indicated that the experience was life and career enhancing, giving them much more insight into how research is conducted and a greater appreciation of the environment and the need to protect it.

NOAA also benefits substantially from the program. NOAA scientists gain motivated volunteers to help them carry out their projects, and NOAA crew members enjoy having individuals onboard who are enthusiastic and eager to learn about all aspects of the cruise. Perhaps most importantly, the program serves NOAA’s mission by promoting a greater awareness of the need to understand and protect the world’s oceans and their resources — among teachers, students and the general public.

Lastly, both NOAA and students gain another important benefit. By talking about their experiences and sharing photos or video taken during a cruise, teachers can encourage their students to think about potential marine careers with NOAA or other science-based organizations.

2003 Teacher at Sea Highlights
During the past year, NASA educator Brian Hawkins, traveled onboard the NOAA oceanographic research ship RONALD H. BROWN to conduct research and surveys of the Kick ‘em Jenny undersea volcano west of Grenada — a collaborative project of the Seismic Research Unit of the University of the West Indies, the University of Rhode Island and NOAA. The project, funded by the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, included multi-beam sonar mapping of the volcano, seismic profiling, video observations and sample collections using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), measurements of hydrothermal activity, sediment core collection and biological sampling. Hawkins found the most gratifying part of the cruise was to be able to participate in real-time discovery. “To see, with the scientists, new features never before seen on this planet was really exciting,” he said. “I also participated with NOAA and the universities at a news conference, where we were able to present the discoveries to the public in a way to help them better understand the volcano and its interaction with their community.” As the first NASA teacher to participate in the program, he hopes the Teacher at Sea program will become an ongoing relationship between NOAA and NASA.

Last month (July 9-24), Amy Brown, San Benito High School in Hollister, Calif., sailed onboard the NOAA coastal oceanographic research ship MCARTHUR II to help conduct research in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The 224-foot ship engages in measurements of chemical, meteorological and biological sampling for several large scale programs within NOAA.

Next Teacher at Sea on the Web
The NOAA Teacher at Sea Program and the NOAA Office of Global Programs are proud to announce Nancy Lewis as the program's newest Climate Observation Teacher at Sea. Lewis is a special education teacher at Naalehu Elementary and Intermediate School in Naalehu on the island of Hawaii. Lewis will embark on the NOAA Research Vessel KA'IMIMOANA in Nuku Hiva, French Marquesas on September 14, 2003, and travel for 14 days to Honolulu, Hawaii. While onboard, she will host live Web broadcasts, write lessons plans, maintain a daily log, take photographs, interview scientists and answer questions from the public via E-mail (nancy.lewis@noaa.gov). She will also have the opportunity to work with Tom Nolan from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Tetsuro Isono from the Japanese Marine Science and Technology Center. During the research cruise, the NOAA Ship KA'IMIMOANA will service the TAO/TRITON array along both the 140 degrees west and 125 degrees west longitude. The TAO/TRITON array is part of a complex climate observation system.

Teacher at Sea Application and Requirements
Though most teachers take advantage of the program during the summer, cruises are available throughout most of the year (although space may be limited). Cruises range from one week to several months. Teachers on sabbatical may have the option to go on an extended cruise — in recent years, two have participated in cruises going to Australia and Japan, giving them a wealth of experience in global climate and air chemistry research.

Giving Back
Teachers must be willing to fulfill several program requirements upon completion of their cruise:

• Submit a report to the NOAA Education Office detailing the cruise events and ideas for implementation in the classroom.
• Create a mini-unit of lessons based on the experiences at sea.
• Submit an article for publication or make a presentation at an educators’ conference for colleagues.

Application Process: Steps for Participating in the Teachers At Sea Program

• Select your top choices of cruises.
• Download the application from the Web site, fill it out and return it to the program coordinator at least three months in advance of your desired cruise
  date.
• Download and complete a medical history questionnaire. You must be in good health to participate.
• Arrange and pay for your transportation to and from the docking site. There are no other costs to you. Sponsorship opportunities are sometimes available.

“The Teacher at Sea program has been extremely successful for several reasons,” said Rear Admiral Evelyn Fields, NOAA Corps, director of NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations, which administers the program. “It addresses the strong desire of teachers to gain ‘real world’ experience to bring back to their classrooms and to update their skills in scientific research. It also provides NOAA with eager and talented volunteers for their field projects. In addition, by giving teachers an up-close view of the fascinating world of marine science, we hope they’ll pass along their enthusiasm to students and spark enough interest to bring NOAA new recruits down the road. It’s a win-win situation.”

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA Teacher at Sea Program

NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations

Rear Admiral Evelyn Fields

NOAA Office of Global Programs

About the Ships and their Missions

General Shipboard Policy Information

NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center

Manual for cruise volunteers and first-time sailors

NOAA Ship RONALD H. BROWN

NOAA AND NASA COLLABORATE THROUGH TEACHER AT SEA

NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration

NOAA Ship MCARTHUR II

TEACHER TO GET HANDS-ON RESEARCH EXPERIENCE ABOARD NOAA SHIP
What I Did on My Summer Vacation

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary

Nancy Lewis, Climate Observation Teacher at Sea

NOAA Ship KA'IMIMOANA

TAO/TRITON array

NOAA Corps

NOAA Education Resources

TEACHER TO GET HANDS-ON RESEARCH EXPERIENCE ABOARD NOAA SHIP: What I Did on My Summer Vacation

NOAA AND NASA COLLABORATE THROUGH TEACHER AT SEA

TEACHERS AT SEA BRIDGE GAP BETWEEN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND THE CLASSROOM

PENNSYLVANIA TEACHER SPENDS SABBATICAL AT SEA WITH NOAA STUDYING CLIMATE

100 SCIENTISTS JOIN NOAA / NSF LED CLIMATE STUDY CRUISE: Team uses ships, planes and radio controlled aircraft to gather data

NOAA's Climate Observation Program

OGP Sponsored Teachers at Sea

Media Contact:
Jeanne Kouhestani, NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations, (301) 713-3431 ext. 220

Teacher at Sea Program Contact:
Jennifer Hammond, NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations, (301) 713-3418 ext. 138