Before lowering himself into Aureo, an erstwhile research vessel brought to Juneau to teach kids about ocean sciences, local Faith Community Christian School fourth-grader Lucas Thompson \u2014 who aims to be a pro football player \u2014 wasn\u2019t too keen on the sea.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think I want to have anything to do with the ocean, unless the ocean has to do with football,\u201d Thompson said.<\/p>\n
But after checking out the 14-foot yellow submarine, Thompson changed his tune.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow it\u2019s very hard to decide, very hard,\u201d he said about his career choice.<\/p>\n
Juneau elementary and middle school students have been exploring the sub with local marine ecologist Michelle Ridgway this week, learning about ocean sciences and the where their Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) courses can take them.<\/p>\n
Heidi Boucher\u2019s third- and fourth-grade class jostled in line to board the single-person submersible, which was hauled on its trailer to the Auke Bay Fire Station Tuesday for the field trip. Students held pictures of octopi and sharks in front of the viewport to simulate a mission.<\/p>\n
Words like \u201ccool,\u201d \u201cawesome\u201d and \u201cepic\u201d were thrown about.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just really interested in all those creatures,\u201d fourth-grader Joshua File said. \u201cI want to be an ocean explorer and see all the cool stuff down there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ridgway has worked as an ecologist everywhere from Metlakatla to Barrow to the Aleutian-Pribilof Islands and uses submersibles to study deep sea food webs. <\/p>\n
Ridgway, who has worked in all kinds of ocean habitats, said nothing beats teaching kids ocean sciences than with hands-on experiences. They always respond positively, she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just my opinion, I\u2019ve observed this and data supports it,\u201d Ridgway said. \u201cI\u2019ve trained kids with ROVs (Remote Operated Vehicles) and it\u2019s very validating to them to see what\u2019s possible with real tools and tactile context. I am not a teacher, so I treat them like a research partner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ridgway\u2019s found the hands-on approach helps answer the one question all students ask: \u201cWhen am I ever going to use this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard from principals and teachers that they pay much closer attention in math and science courses when they know they\u2019re going to apply it,\u201d Ridgway said. \u201cStudents still talk about these experiences, some have gone on in careers in this, and I hear from them from time to time in emails.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Alaska chapter of the Explorers Club and the Alaska Deep Sea Ocean Sciences Institute partnered to make the sub available to kids. Ridgway is the chair of the Alaska chapter of the Explorers Club and helped put together a deal with a partial donation and partial purchase of the vessel from Kodiak resident Dick Waddell. The Aureo sailed from Kodiak to Juneau on the M\/V Kennicott this spring.<\/p>\n
The Aureo is still a fully-functioning sub, though it\u2019s been simplified so kids can use it safely and will not damage it. It\u2019s designed to dive 120 meters and is powered by two four-foot long battery pods and three thrusters, one each on the port (left) and starboard (right) and one main thruster on the stern (back). High pressure tanks on Aureo\u2019s sides allow it to release pressure as it sinks below the waves.<\/p>\n
Ridgway wants to see Alaskans take ownership of science and technology, and believes her volunteer work with kids can help spur the next generation to accept that challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cPersonally, I want to see Alaskans develop our own technology to research our massive undersea region for resources, sea life biodiversity, marine pharmaceuticals, archaeology, detecting change in the ocean,\u201d Ridgway said. \u201cCurrently, we largely rely on technology developed for environments elsewhere, often transported at tremendous cost, and often operated by outside entities. I believe our maritime heritage, science savvy and intimate reliance on the ocean are ideal Alaskan attributes to marshal for developing science and technology jobs to advance research under Alaskan seas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ridgway also brought an ROV with her to share with the students. \u201cRuby,\u201d is 3 feet long and is operated remotely by a controller, which one student was intrigued by because it was \u201cjust like Xbox.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though the kids were universally astounded by their experience, it wasn\u2019t lost on them that working in a single-person submersible is no life of ease in a sea of green.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought there was going to be more space,\u201d Jenna Sydney, a student in Trista Anderson\u2019s first- and second-grade class, said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to pee in a bottle,\u201d classmate Taylor Williams added, \u201cWhat do you do with it, throw it in the trash?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Contact Outdoors reporter and Sports Editor Kevin Gullufsen at 523-2228 or at kevin.gullufsen@juneauempire.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"