What a bummer!

Hi folks,

Well, it seems that the Ronald Brown has a problem with one of the electric propulsion motors. That means that the cruise we were scheduled to begin on Monday has been canceled. The folks at NOAA will be looking for an alternate for me and Art on Monday. While missing the Stratus 10 Cruise is a real bummer, it is much more difficult for the scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution that have been working for a year to prepare for this cruise. Both Art and I want to wish them luck in finding a back-up vessel soon so that the mission can continue even if it is without the MontanaTeachersAtSea. We will keep everyone up to speed with any news regarding out journey.

All the Earth Science students at the Senior High Academy decorated several NOAA stickers to put on the 'Bronc Buoy' that Art and I will deploy as part of the Adopt-a-Drifter Program.

As you can see we have a lot of kids.

We hope that there will be enough room on the buoy for all the stickers.

What a great opportunity for 'landlocked' students to actively study the ocean.

We look forward to tracking the 'Bronc Buoy' for years to come.

Here are a few images of the cups that my kids 'designed' today.

Tomorrow the other two Earth Science teachers will have their classes design cups for deployment on the Stratus 10 Cruise.

The Senior Academy will have over 400 cups from the Class of 2013 to send to Davy Jones and then I will bring them back for the students to measure the changes in volume and size.

We can't wait to send them down.

And then see them again in November.

Making the cups for the pressure test.

As we prepare to leave on our trip the Earth science classes at the Senior Academy are preparing their styrofoam cups for a trip to Davy Joneses locker. The students have measured the mass of their cups (pre-crush) as well as the liquid volume these cups hold (ideally 354 ml), the height and mouth diameter in centimeters. These cups will be attached to a CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth) rosette that we will send to the bottom sometime while we are on our Stratus 10 cruise. During the decent the cups will be subjected to immense pressure and squashed. Once we return to the classroom the students will re-measure their cups and determine the percentage of change based on the new volume the cups can hold and the other new measurements that the cups will have.

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Follow the Brown

If you want to follow our voyage using a cool google maps please click here.

Meet Art

Art is an associate Professor in the Educational Leadership Program at Montana State University (MSU) where he teaches courses in educational statistics, research methods, and educational assessment. Prior to his work at MSU, Art was a biology teacher, guidance counselor, and school psychologist. His research interests include designing, teaching, and evaluating online learning environments and assessing the impacts of informal science learning environments. Art is an avid fly fisherman and is looking forward to the Stratus 10 cruise and the possibility of ocean fishing in addition to learning about the physical attributes of the ocean that affect the earth's climate.

Meet Rick

Rick is a science educator at Billings Senior High Freshman Academy where he teaches Earth Science and Honors Earth Science. In addition to teaching 9th grade science, Rick has taught biology, physical science, life science, health, and physics. Rick also teaches online courses through the American Meteorological Society and science methods at MSU-Billings. Like Art, Rick is interested in assessing the impacts of informal science learning environments, especially on young women. He is excited to have this opportunity make science more real for his students and other students around the globe.

Things are happening!

We just got the 'Media Kits' yesterday. These have a 'Flip' camera and a laptop that we will use while we are at sea. I am looking forward to seeing how this all works.