MISSION 15 51: ENGAGING THE PUBLIC IN SHIPBOARD RESEARCH THROUGH AN INTERACTIVE WEB SITE

Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI) Program Assistants Jessica Sharoff and Karinna Sjo-Gaber served as education and outreach specialists aboard the NOAA vessel Ronald H. Brown in April 2007. Their primary goal during the expedition was to inform the public about life at sea and climate variability research led by Al Plueddemann, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Chief Scientist. Pluddemann and his team deployed the latest Northwest Tropical Atlantic Station (NTAS) mooring in a series of seven, enabling scientists to understand more about the air-sea interface in this part of the ocean. Groups from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the National Data Buoy Center were also represented on the Brown.

Most people are unaware of ongoing oceanographic and atmospheric science research and its global implications, producing a general lack of interest in these types of projects. To effectively generate curiosity among the public, Sjo-Gaber and Sharoff offered a rare glimpse into their adventure at sea through an interactive Web site: MISSION 15 51. They connected with various media outlets, museums, classrooms, education forums, journals and science organizations to publicize the research project and education and outreach efforts.

The site was created with science articles, inquiry based activities, and interactives appropriate for viewers of all ages. Advances in ship technology made it possible to add new information each day and the Web site served as a communication medium between the specialists and their visitors. Members of the interested public and classrooms wrote questions and comments to Sharoff and Sjo-Gaber throughout the expedition. MISSION 15 51 has drawn almost 3,000 followers from around the world and continues to be an active site; follow-up events have also been scheduled in Washington, DC and New York City science museums to maximize outreach.

In this session, participants will learn how Web technologies can be used to bridge the gap between scientists and the public through the variety of interactives on MISSION 15 51. Additionally, Sjo-Gaber and Sharoff aim to show how this project can be used as a template for future ship to shore outreach programs to educate audiences about oceanographic research through the Web.