When the ongoing pandemic scuttled Maya Leighton’s plans this fall to attend a university overseas, she instead enrolled for a year at Bermuda College. There, a professor noted Leighton’s commitment to marine sciences and suggested a unique opportunity. How about spending Saturdays at BIOS, learning about coral reefs, marine microplastics, plankton, and mangrove restoration on island?

Last month a group of 39 P6 (primary school level 6, or grade 5 in the U.S. school system) students from Harrington Sound Primary School spent three days and two nights at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS), where they learned about the local marine environment and potential career paths in ocean science research, technology, and education.

On October 12 and 13, BIOS debuted a new classroom education module focused on the water cycle and weather in Lisa Siese’s P6 classroom at Somerset Primary. The module is part of the Institute’s Curriculum Enrichment Program, which is designed to enhance science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM) instruction in local classrooms by bringing immersive experiences and hands-on activities to teachers and students.

Priel Minors, 16, a senior school student at Cedarbridge Academy, was chosen by educators at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) and ConnecTech, to participate in a weeklong “BioCoding at Home” course offered virtually by the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s DNA Learning Center. BIOS’s Ocean Academy provided a scholarship to cover the cost of the course while ConnecTech provided work space and coding support.

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.

Primary students at Saltus Upper Primary School and Somersfield Academy gained an early introduction to ocean science in January through in-school presentations from two BIOS scientists. The presentations, part of BIOS’s Curriculum Enrichment Program, supported local teachers who wanted to enhance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) content in their classrooms through immersive experiences with their students.

Both BIOS and Bermuda College are known for providing outstanding educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects for the island’s young people. While the Bermuda College is a degree-granting institution and BIOS is a not-for-profit research and education facility that focuses on training local students in primary, middle, and high school, both organizations have a similar goal: to provide the island’s children and young adults with the knowledge, skills, and experiences required for future success in academics and the workforce.

Since its construction in 1977, the Scott Lab has served as a facility for ocean science teaching and learning for hundreds of students of all ages, from primary through graduate school. The 700-square-foot lab, named after George T. Scott, president of the then-Bermuda Biological Station for Research (BBSR) from 1967 through 1969, is located near the Institute’s waterfront, offering convenient access to research vessels and the waters of Ferry Reach.