Live Webcast Events

Education Materials : Live Webcast Events

Science Under the Seas: Live from Aquarius with Philippe Cousteau

In August 2005, North Carolina high school and middle school students met five times with marine scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to learn about coral reefs. What made these meetings unusual? The scientists were located 900 miles away in the Florida Keys, underneath 60 feet of water, communicating over the internet from Aquarius, the only working underwater lab in the world! While the scientists dove and conducted research on sponges and corals for two weeks, the students designed experiments for the mission and participated in exciting web-based video conferences with the "aquanauts." Through these link-ups, the students received a live tour of Aquarius, were able to ask questions in real-time to the scientists, and interacted with them as they conducted research dives. Inquiry-based curricula were developed to complement the webcasts, providing frameworks for discussion before, during, and after the mission. This project was motivated by the quarter of the world's coral reefs that are in imminent danger of collapse. Coral reefs are important marine habitats that provide food, income, and other resources to many communities of people. As the only facility of its kind, Aquarius provides scientists the chance to spend extensive time in the reefs of the Florida Keys researching their role in the larger ecosystem. This research, the Aquarius facility, and internet video conferencing technologies provided an amazing and unique opportunity to engage young students directly with immersive, experiential education.

Aquarius Resources

Aquarius Wallpaper
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Lessons

Learn about the world’s only underwater lab and the various plants and animals that live in the diverse coral reefs around it, including corals, sponges, algae, and fish.

Archived Webcasts

Materials created by : Melinda Fitzgerald
Edited by: Melissa Southwell

Additional Resources

Additional materials may be found at Science Under the Sea.

Project Collaborators

John Bruno, Ph.D, Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Philippe Cousteau, President, EarthEcho International
Adam Geiger, Producer, EarthEcho International
Chris Martens, Ph.D., W. B. Aycock Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Mary O’Conner, Graduate Student, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Liz Selig, Graduate Student, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Melissa Southwell, Graduate Student, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Melissa Thibault, Director of Media Services, LEARN NC

Production Team

Colette Beaudry, Writer, Producer/Lighting
Philippe Cousteau, Writer, Host, Executive Producer
Adam Geiger, Writer, Producer/Camera
Ned McLeod, Co-Executive Producer
Walter A. Stearns, Photographer
Philip Alan Waters, Director/Camera

Science Under the Sea is produced and funded by a consortium of organizations, including a close collaboration between EarthEcho and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in particular, the Department of Marine Sciences, the Institute of Marine Sciences, LEARN NC, and the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. Aquarius is owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and run by the National Underwater Research Center (NURC) associated with the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Additional support is provided by NASA, SEACOOS COSEE-SE, and OceanOptics, Incorporated.