While some students begin high school with solid career goals in mind, others are trying to identify their interests and align them with potential academic majors or occupations. The BIOS Ocean Science Camp (OSC) was created in 2018 to help engage and support this latter group of students. OSC is a snorkel-based summer camp geared toward students between the ages of 12 and 15 who are interested in the ocean, but may not have had previous opportunities to study marine science.

Bermudian Claire Fox joined BIOS this month as a science education officer, bringing to the job her experience as a BIOS intern, and as a former employee and volunteer for a variety of island-based science education outlets, plus university-level science training.

For two sessions this summer (July 19 to 23 and July 26 to 28), 19 students aged 12 to 15 got to experience Bermuda’s marine environments and learn the foundations of scientific investigations through BIOS’s Ocean Science Camp. Now in its third year, the camp is designed for students who are interested in the ocean, but may not have had previous opportunities to study marine science.

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.

A new, week-long “Ocean Science Camp” at BIOS will provide an introduction to Bermuda’s marine life while also building a scientific foundation to encourage long-term curiosity about the ocean. Over the course of the week, students will have the opportunity to participate in snorkel training and research-based field trips aboard BIOS vessels to explore mangrove, sea grass, and coral reef environments. In a nod to the collaborative nature of science, students will work as a team on activities and projects that are focused on research being conducted at BIOS.

A new BIOS summer program offered local students aged 12 to 15 an introduction to Bermuda’s marine environment and provided a strong foundation in scientific research, both in the laboratory and the field. Institute education staff developed the Ocean Science Camp to appeal to students who are interested in oceanography but lack previous marine science experience. KPMG and Bermuda Skyport Corporation Ltd. provided bursaries for this year’s camp.

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.

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.