Kicking off the DEVO Science Fair with Stories and Submarines

January 28, 2015

FTBS teams up with Alvin Submarine diver and Director of Bigelow Labs Dr. Graham Shimmield and takes the wonders of the ocean on the road.

To kickstart the annual Science Fair at Edward Devotion Public School, FTBS Program Manager Ellen teamed up with Dr. Graham Shimmield Director of Bigelow Laboratories (a marine microbe research institution in Maine) for a presentation of what’s under the sea.  He’d just returned from diving in the Alvin submersible near Costa Rica, and we were there to get the students pumped for their annual Science Fair!

First, Dr. Shimmield showed a bunch of pictures of strange and beautiful sea creatures that look like creatures from fantasy – frilled sharks, biolouminescent jellyfish, and even the Yeti crab.  Then he talked about the science and technology that allowed him to take those photos – yes, submarines (subs) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).

Dr. Shimmield had just returned from a deep-sea dive in the Alvin submersible.  Yep that’s right, that’s the very same sub that is famous for bringing the first explorers to the wreck of the Titanic in 1986.  Dr. Shimmield talked about what it was like being inside a submarine several miles under the ocean, including how the only lights inside the sub are a reddish color, your sandwich tastes different because of the pressure at that depth, and how you have to “go” in a little bottle.

Of course, FTBS and Dr. Shimmield know that science, engineering, and innovation aren’t the only important tools to understand and explore our oceans.  We have to be able to communicate what we find in a clear and powerful way, and speak up when we find something’s wrong.

That’s were Ellen came in – she and Dr. Shimmield then talked about how humans are impacting the oceans.  Dr. Shimmield showed pictures of trash he found at the bottom of the ocean, and Ellen showed some of the winning FTBS artwork about marine debris.  This launched a discussion with the 200-some students about how each of us are connected to the ocean – where does our trash go when we don’t recycle it?  How long does our trash stay in the ocean?  How can we stop polluting the ocean?

And best of all, how can this upcoming Science Fair spark ideas of how to make the world a better place?

Science means asking questions.  Art means communicating the answers. And Advocacy means doing work that makes a difference.  In many ways, you can do all of these at a Science Fair, and you can do all of these with the FTBS Ocean Awareness Student Contest.

Ellen handed out lots of fliers for the 2015 Contest, and so we are looking forward to seeing what kinds of projects the young scientists from DEVO Public School do for the world!

Are you interested in submitting to the 2015 Contest?  Get started here!