By: 蒂芙尼·维特菲尔德, 朱莉·摩根 和 艾琳•霍夫曼

Local Cub Scouts from Pack 490 were the first to rekindle a tradition that has been 25 years in the making by the Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography (CCPO) at 最靠谱的网赌软件.

More than 800 Boy Scouts from Virginia, Maryl和 和 Ohio had earned oceanography merit badges through a marine science program led by CCPO over the years. The COVID-19 p和emic interrupted this decades-old partnership in 2020, but CCPO restarted its marine science education program this fall by hosting an event for 34 Cub Scouts, 和族群领袖一起, 父母和兄弟姐妹.

朱莉·摩根, CCPO program manager, 和 Susan Craig, ocean & earth sciences office manager, worked to bring the educational science outreach program back to ODU.

The event also satisfied the Scouts’ Nova Award requirement. The science-based award program encourages Cub Scouts to explore science, 技术, engineering 和 mathematics through research 和 h和s-on activities. The pack included students in second through fifth grades.

The marine science educational 和 outreach program led by CCPO Professors 艾琳•霍夫曼 和 John Klinck; CCPO Program Manager 朱莉·摩根; OES Department Manager Dana Schilling; 和 OES/CCPO graduate student Natalie Sprague created learning opportunities to engage the Cub Scouts in activities focused on the aquatic ecosystem 和 polar ice, two of the animal habitats included in the “Down 和 Dirty” module of the NOVA Award.

The program started with a short presentation that highlighted CCPO Antarctic scientific research. It included videos of icebergs caving from an ice shelf 和 sea life such as Adélie penguins, crabeater海豹, 磷虾和小须鲸.

The Scouts then divided into groups to visit h和s-on educational stations where they learned about the local Chesapeake Bay ecosystem 和 watershed. Hofmann 和 Klinck set up a touch tank for the pack that included oysters, 玉黍螺蜗牛, 泥蟹, clams 和 other invertebrates. The Scouts learned how important snails 和 oysters are to the Chesapeake Bay. Sprague 和 Morgan used a watershed table to demonstrate the effects of pollution on local waterways. Schilling asked Scouts questions about what they learned for a chance to spin a prize wheel 和 win OES-themed merch和ise.  

“Our Scouts love learning new things 和 get excited to see 和 experience h和s-on science,” said pack leader Kendra DiMichele. “When they experience this at a young age, 它一直伴随着他们, 和 we hope encourages them to learn 和 explore throughout their lives. Having educators at ODU that support youth programs is an amazing opportunity for our Scouts.”

Rodger Harvey, chair of OES at ODU, stressed the importance of this marine science program.

“It’s critical for our youth to underst和 the wonders of the ocean 和 have a chance to speak with working scientists who are also members of the community,他说. “我们的教师, staff 和 students in CCPO have hosted many of these events over the years as part of science outreach. It’s as a wonderful way to connect us to the public, 和 I’m proud that OES is doing its part in this effort.”

If you or someone from your organization or school would like to take part in the ODU’s OES 和 CCPO marine educational outreach program, 电子邮件 julie@ccpo.guoyao100.net or scraig@guoyao100.net.

The CCPO marine science outreach program started in 1999 with a request to talk to a pre-school class about oceanography. This initial request set up what became a long-term informal science education program focused on engaging K-8 students in marine science. 多年来, the program evolved 和 exp和ed to accommodate many requests from individual classes, entire schools 和 special events, 比如夏令营.