After the successful inaugural episode of Ocean Diaries—a virtual education program and collaboration that aired as a Facebook Live event on the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo (BAMZ) Facebook page last month to over 2,000 views—the team of educators at BAMZ, the Bermuda Zoological Society (BZS), BIOS, and the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI) quickly remobilized to begin working on episode 2.

Source: Ocean Academy Blogger

In the two-week period from January 21 through February 1, over 1000 students and teachers from 18 different primary schools around the island came to BIOS for the 2013 BIOS Explorer program. This year’s theme, “Expedition Sargasso,” focused on the biology, chemistry, and physics of the Sargasso Sea – the only sea in the world bounded by currents instead of land masses.

Girl Power in Science! As part of her NOAA Teacher at Sea experience, Kaitlin Baird (BIOS’s Science in Education Coordinator) compiled a list of women working in diverse aspects of ocean science research and education.

BIOS students removed trash and debris from Whalebone Bay during the 30th annual International Coastal Cleanup on Sept. 19, sponsored locally by Ernst and Young in partnership with Keep Bermuda Beautiful. Students at BIOS from the University of Rhode Island and Roger Williams University, as well as students in the BIOS Research Experience for Undergraduates program, teamed up with Bermuda Ocean Explorers for the event. In three hours they gathered 17 bags of trash and four bags of recyclable aluminum and glass, and removed half of an abandoned boat hull. Educator Kaitlin Baird, who helped coordinate the event for BIOS, said the experience “was a great opportunity for students to give back to the community.”

On the first day of the Bermuda half-term school holiday—Monday, October 21, 2019—18 teachers attended a workshop at BIOS entitled “Hurricanes: Data in the Classroom.” The workshop was offered as part of the BIOS Curriculum Enrichment Program, which offers educational support and resources to students and teachers, in an effort to boost the availability of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning experiences in Bermuda. Through a partnership with the Bermuda Union of Teachers, the Curriculum Enrichment Program allows BIOS scientists and educators to share aspects of BIOS’s research for classroom lessons.

The 5th Annual Groundswell Lionfish Tournament took place at BIOS on July 18, and saw the tournament kicking off at sunup and boats heading in to the BIOS dock for the 3.00pm weigh-in. See story and photos at Bernews.com.

In Bermuda, students of all ages—primary school through college—have a unique opportunity to develop and demonstrate a range of skills, from math to group problem solving, by participating in the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Bermuda Regional Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Challenge. The annual event, held this year in late March and hosted by BIOS with lead donor support from HSBC Bank Bermuda Limited (HSBC), is part of BIOS’s Mid-Atlantic Robotics IN Education (MARINE) program.

Since 2005, BIOS’s Ocean Academy and Raleigh Bermuda have partnered in the support and development of young Bermudians in their six-day Outdoor Survival Camp as trainees prepare for volunteer work in Tanzania, Borneo, Costa Rica and other countries. In early April, 28 young Bermudians and their adult mentors, ranging in age from 17 to 27, participated in an environmental project on the island that exposes trainees to some of the rigors of working abroad.

In recent years, libraries in North America have become much more than book repositories, providing modern classrooms and light-filled lecture spaces, comfortable group and individual study areas, and high speed Internet access. The newly renovated library at BIOS promises that and more—anyone want to learn to build a circuit for an undersea robot?