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COSEE-OS Partners on National Girls Collaborative Project Mini Grants - 01.28.2011

COSEE-OS was named on two successful National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) mini grants with its Center partners at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and Gardiner Area High School.

 The BLOOM Program provides Maine students with real world ocean research experience
The BLOOM Program provides Maine students with real world ocean
research experience
Keller BLOOM Program
Project Lead Rebecca Fowler

Maine high school juniors participate in hands-on research at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in West Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Each May, a student from every county (16 total) is selected to spend five days at the lab conducting and reporting research on the bottom layers of the ocean's food chain: phytoplankton and zooplankton. BLOOM participants collect samples on a research cruise, measure characteristics of these samples, analyze the data and present their results. Bigelow collaborates with COSEE-OS to recruit students from rural and inland counties who may have little exposure to ocean science.

The primary goals of this project are to (1) teach participants to approach problems in a scientific context (2) to provide hands-on science experience to help students decide whether they want to pursue a career or higher education in the sciences, and (3) to show students that science is important, especially the study of ocean ecosystems in a local and global context. A secondary goal is to expose students to science, technology, engineering and mathematics career options and undergraduate institutions in Maine, thus encouraging students to study, live and work in the state.

Riding the Waves
Project Lead Sharon Gallant

Senior girls from Gardiner Area High School will attend an overnight training session at the University of Maine's marine research facility, the Darling Marine Center, to learn about ocean science research methods and related career options. Girls will participate in activities led by University of Maine science faculty and grad students, exposing them to important research technologies and involving them in sampling and collection activities. The students will incorporate topics covered in the training in digital concept maps, which they will present and use as teaching tools on visits to elementary classrooms in their district.

The goal of this project is to provide an opportunity for girls to learn about careers in the ocean sciences and to gain exposure to important technological research tools and techniques. This will enhance their understanding and appreciation of the Ocean Literacy Essential Principles (aligned with National Science Education Standards), particularly the growing importance of technologies in aiding our understanding of the ocean. The girls will develop an awareness and sense of stewardship for the ocean and will promote that ethic beyond the scope of this training session.

Learn more about the National Girls Collaborative Project at http://www.ngcproject.org/.

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