Two
N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences staff members went to
sea in September 2001, joining the National Oceanographic
and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) “Islands in the
Stream” ocean exploration mission. The expedition took
teams of scientists to Atlantic coastal waters for a series
of studies on fish habitat, coral reef health, and hard-bottom
communities.
Photo: NASA
Museum Educator Liz Baird joined the North Carolina leg of the expedition. She participated in fish surveys, working the midnight to 6 a.m. and noon to 6 p.m. shifts to assist in specimen and data collection. Liz also took a sub dive, going 2,910 feet below the surface for four hours. Read her log entry for Sept. 23, 2001 on the NOAA Ocean Explorations web site. NOAA's Ocean Explorations Web site provides extensive information on the Islands in the Stream research mission.
Students in classes taught by the 2001 Educators of Excellence were invited to ask questions about the Islands in the Stream Mission while Liz served as the Educator at Sea. They submited the questions to the ship via satellite twice a day. Liz worked with the scientists and the ship's crew to come up with answers to the questions, which they sent back during the next satellite pass, 12 hours later. Here are examples of some of the students' questions and Liz's answers while at sea: Questions & Answers
Liz -- who coordinates distance learning at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences -- will use her experience aboard the Seward Johnson II to create new science programming for Museum visitors and North Carolina students across the state.
Karen Kemp, the Museum’s Director of Public Relations, was aboard a Florida leg of the mission. She joined researchers studying the health of the Oculina Banks, a coral reef ecosystem 24 miles off the coast of Central Florida. Read her contributions to the NOAA Web site on the daily logs for Aug. 29, 2001 (submersible pilot interview) and Sept. 4, 2001 (a conversation with John Reed). Or, read her commentary about what she learned.
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