2010 NOAA Science Camp

After weeks of preparation and the successful recruitment of a large and varied group of middle school campers, NOAA and its partners, Washington Sea Grant (WSG) and the University of Washington's Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Oceans (JISAO) conducted the eighth annual NOAA Science Camp in Seattle in July 2010. During 2 week-long sessions, 50 middle-school-aged campers will work toward determining the cause and impacts of a hypothetical environmental incident - a fish kill discovered on a Puget Sound beach. The campers will work in teams on a variety of hands-on educational activities, aligned to national and Washington State standards, which highlight techniques used by NOAA scientists in their work.

Scientists from nine NOAA offices lead activities that demonstrate how actions throughout watersheds are important to the coastal environment; how NOAA navigational charts are made; how oceanographic data are collected; how marine mammal movements, identification, and diet are studied; the challenges faced by salmon in their environment and in the management arena; how oil spills affect the environment and move with the wind and currents; and the equipment and techniques used by NOAA divers. At the end of the week, the campers apply the knowledge they learn during the activities to investigate the fish-kill incident, and present posters on their results to scientists, families, and friends.

NOAA Science Camp's hypothetical environmental incident highlights real-life circumstances at a local level. This year's camp will also include a summary of the current handling of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The National Ocean Service's Office of Response and Restoration (Emergency Response Division) had to pull out of active participation in NOAA Science Camp because of commitments to the oil spill, but will give an overview of what has been (and is still) going on with the oil spill, the questions that need to be considered, and what NOAA is doing to help. Numerous examples of local contributions to the effort will also connect the spill to campers' everyday lives and will highlight how the concepts that campers are learning at NOAA Science Camp are directly applicable to situations such as the Deepwater Horizon spill.

Alaska Fisheries Science Center staff members work on the overall coordination of NOAA Science Camp, as well as leading marine mammal activities and participating in fisheries activities. In the marine mammal activities, campers learn how marine mammal movements are tracked, count beluga whales, use patterns on humpback whale flukes to identify individuals, find out how scientists learn about what marine mammals eat, and find the parents of northern fur seal pups, using genetic information. Fisheries activities focus on salmon survival and management, and the effects of toxins on fish behavior.
NOAA Science Camp started in 2003 as a grassroots effort to increase environmental literacy in the Puget Sound area and to raise public awareness of NOAA and its mission. Over the years, nearly 500 middle school campers have gained an understanding of environmental issues in their own community, and have shared their understanding with family and friends. NOAA Science Camp also partners with local community groups to foster the participation of campers from underserved communities. WSG coordinates logistics for the camp (recruitment and hiring of education staff, recruitment and registration of campers, and the operation of camp), JISAO provides funding for camper scholarships (which are awarded based on an application process), and NOAA provides funding and staff from the following offices to develop, coordinate and lead the science activities.