Wednesday, July 28, 2010

NOAA Resources

Upon acceptance into the NOAA Teacher at Sea (TAS) program I was sent some resources. My school was kind enough to let me use a video camera for my Teacher at Sea experience. The attached video clip briefly shows the resources sent to me.

By this time tomorrow I will be well on my way to Gulfport, MS and then to my ship the Delaware II at the Pascagoula Port. Thanks to fellow TAS Mechelle Shoemake for suggestions on how to find my ship. The next time I post to this blog it will hopefully be from the Delaware II!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Teacher at Sea's Log, Stardate 2010.07.22

While onboard ship I am required to record a log every 2-3 days, much like Captain Kirk himself! Unlike Capt. Kirk my logs must be approved by the ship's chief scientist, and then the executive officer. They will be checking my logs for accuracy and safety reasons. The format I have to use for my log is shown below.


NOAA Teacher at Sea Program Log

NOAA Teacher at Sea: Beth A Spear

NOAA Ship: Delaware II

Mission: Bottom Longline Survey

Geographical area of cruise: Gulf of Mexico to North Atlantic

Date: (e.g. Saturday, June 23, 2007)

Weather Data from the Bridge
Obtain recorded weather data from the ship's bridge.

Science and Technology Log
In this section discuss the science, technology, and/or career aspects of the mission.

Personal Log
Discuss the aspects of your mission not covered in the science portion of your log.

Additional Section Names (all optional—you may customize this):
“Question of the Day”
“New Term/Phrase/Word”
“Something to Think About”
“Challenge Yourself’
“Did You Know?”
“Animals Seen Today”

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Delaware II

I was originally scheduled to ship out on the Oregon II. I recently found out the Oregon II was diverted to another mission, not sure what. My new ship is the Delaware II. The link below explains more about the ship and its mission.



Tuesday, July 20, 2010

My first blog

Welcome to my blog! This is my first attempt at blogging. I was accepted into the NOAA Teacher at Sea program this summer and thought a blog would be a good way to record my experiences.

My NOAA experience started this winter with my application. I had heard about the program in the summer of 2009 during a science leadership workshop at Pigeon Lake, WI. In March 2010 I was notified of my acceptance and signed on for a bottom long line survey. During April and May I worked on the online training. June was spent finishing up school and chaperoning a trip to New Zealand, Australia, and Hawaii.

Busy summer!

Now that July is here my departure date is approaching. I've been emailing with several NOAA employees to finalize my itinerary, submit all paperwork, and finalize details. My original ship (Oregon II) was needed for something else so I will now be aboard the Delaware II. I am scheduled to leave on July 29, and the ship leaves July 30.

I need to go start packing!