The TOPS-Marine Science Experience ended regular activities in July 2005, but the website developed for this program is maintained by the TOPS Program at Occidental.  Additional data collected on board any of the local  educational vessels can be added to the tables by emailing it to tops@oxy.edu.  

     With funding from an Improving Teacher Quality State Grant from the California Postsecondary Education Commission, Occidental College offered workshops for science teachers with an interest in incorporating research aspects of marine science into their curriculum. The goals of the workshop were to improve the teacher's understanding of marine organisms and processes, introduce them to contemporary oceanographic research methods, and assist them in developing a creative, inquiry based project for their students which combines an "at sea" experience with the use of Occidental's Marine Science Experience Database.  

     The workshop combined onshore studies at the Eagle Rock campus with practical experiences at sea aboard the R/V Vantuna, an 85' research vessel, currently owned by SCMI. Participants gained a working knowledge of local marine species, participated in water quality and biological sampling, and learned methods of data collection, entry, and analysis using state of the art oceanographic equipment. Working with a marine scientist from the College, each teacher developed a research project appropriate to their teaching situation. Project descriptions and results are available under the Projects link to the left to facilitate the efforts of others.

     This was a unique opportunity for students to gain a first-hand understanding for the connection between research and education. Furthermore, students have continuing access to the web-based data of the MSE Database, and various research vessels are available for charter through SCMI and UCLA. This further integrates the experience into the classroom and allows the students to use the shipboard experience as a resource for additional research projects.  The data remains available for in-classroom use as well.

    For information about this website, please contact the site administrator through email.

High School Marine Science Experience Homepage / About the MSE

Last updated 6/30/05