CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — A Pickaway-Ross Career and Technology Center teacher spent 13 days at sea this summer aboard a NOAA research vessel, helping scientists survey the lake bottoms of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
Jennifer Widdig, who teaches environmental and animal science at the school, set out from the Port of Cleveland on June 18 aboard NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson as part of the federal agency’s Teacher at Sea program, according to a NOAA press advisory.
The ship transited the Welland Canal before crew members conducted daily hydrographic surveys along the southern shoreline of Lake Ontario, the advisory said. Widdig disembarked 13 days later in Oswego, New York.
Widdig said she plans to bring the experience back to her classroom. “I envision using the NOAA Teacher at Sea experience as a transformative opportunity to deepen scientific inquiry and strengthen cross-curricular collaboration,” she said in a statement. “I hope to expand students’ understanding of the ocean and atmosphere in ways that directly connect to their chosen career pathways.”
Jennifer Hammond, director of NOAA’s Teacher at Sea program, said the trip gives educators access to research many would otherwise never see firsthand. “NOAA’s Teacher at Sea Program gives teachers the professional opportunity of a lifetime with a chance to participate in cutting edge science, on the ocean, working side-by-side with world-renowned scientists,” Hammond said in a statement. “Teachers describe this authentic research experience as transformative and one that allows them to bring new knowledge and excitement back to their classrooms.”
The program has sent nearly 850 teachers to sea since 1990, giving them hands-on experience working alongside scientists who study the marine environment, according to NOAA. Widdig documented her voyage in a blog published through the program.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
