Over the last five years, the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) has welcomed thousands of primary students through its doors to participate in the Explorer Program. Part of BIOS’s yearlong Ocean Academy, the program offers students and teachers an opportunity to learn about local issues through a variety of hands-on lessons and activities.

Have you ever wondered how scientists can tell how old a fish is? Or what a fish’s body and tail shape can tell you about how it swims and where it lives? For many people, fish are simply what’s on the menu, but at the 2014 HSBC Explorer Program, BIOS education staff gave students and teachers the opportunity to learn about fish from nose to tail, and from the inside out.

Each year, around this time, high school students are faced with the often-daunting task of deciding what to do in the upcoming summer months. Volunteer? Study abroad? Work? Intern? While the final decision rests upon many factors, Bermudian students interested in pursuing careers in the ocean or atmospheric sciences have to look no further than the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS). Each summer, as part of its Ocean Academy, BIOS runs two programs for high school students that provide unique opportunities to learn and work at the research station.

Experience Bermuda from Shore to Sea. Join a select group of high school students for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure investigating Bermuda’s marine environment at BIOS while learning offshore sailing and navigation, and experiencing the Sargasso Sea on board Bermuda’s 112 ft. national tall ship, Spirit of Bermuda. Led by experienced staff and instructors, this unique joint shore to sea field course gives participants the experience of a sail-training program that infuses a global science perspective with both cultural and historical elements. No sailing experience is required. Eight professional crew provide instruction on basic sailing skills, navigation techniques and safety.

Since 2015, the Mid-Atlantic Robotics IN Education (MARINE) program has been a core component of BIOS’s Ocean Academy, which offers a suite of hands-on education and research opportunities for students and teachers in Bermuda. BIOS is pleased to announce that MARINE has a new lead sponsor in RenaissanceRe, which has generously funded the program for the next two years, supporting the program’s goals of engaging participants in scientific concepts and enhancing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the classroom.

The rare and ancient microorganisms that live in Bermuda’s submerged caves intrigue BIOS marine ecologist Leocadio Blanco-Bercial, but venturing into these dark, remote spaces to document and retrieve samples is often logistically difficult, not to mention dangerous. When a colleague mentioned a grant for a portable underwater robot that Blanco-Bercial could instead steer into narrow crevices and twisting tunnels to gather microbe samples and take photos, he set to work on an application.

Our educators have compiled a list of ocean-themed resources, from curriculum components to webinars and games, to help keep your kids’ minds active while they’re not in the classroom.

On May 28, 2020, a team of ocean educators from BIOS, the Bermuda Zoological Society (BZS), and the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI) hosted the first episode of a virtual educational series called Ocean Diaries. The collaborative effort emerged in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the cancellation of the annual BIOS Mid-Atlantic Robotics in Education (MARINE) robotics challenge, as well as other educational activities on the island.

After a successful debut in the summer of 2018, BIOS again included the Ocean Science Camp in its lineup of summer education programs. The weeklong camp, held this year from July 8 to 12, is geared toward students aged 12-15 who are interested in the ocean, but have yet to participate in rigorous studies.

This summer, BIOS’s Marine Science Internship program, part of the Institute’s larger Ocean Academy, brought art into its primarily science-focused curriculum. The two-week program is designed to provide students ages 14 to 16 with training and skills development in scientific research and science diving. However, over the last several years, a growing number of educators have started incorporating art into the traditional fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). This new concept is known as STEAM, with the “A” representing “art” in the form of humanities, language arts, dance, drama, visual arts, design, and music.