Terri Hallesy is IISG’s new education coordinator. She has been a part of the program’s education team since 2004 and has played a key role in developing curriculum, conducting educator workshops, and designing IISG-led courses. Her list of accomplishments includes the Nab the Aquatic Invader! website and the B-WET teacher workshop. Terri has received several awards during her tenure with IISG, including an Extension Award of Excellence in 2008 for her efforts on a University of Illinois service-learning course. As the education coordinator, Terri will develop new programs and resources to build our program and improve Great Lakes education in the region. She will also oversee several state and regional collaborative education efforts, including the Center for Great Lakes Literacy project.
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New education coordinator very familiar with IISG mission
May 6th, 2014 by iisg_superadminGreat Lakes education conference features several sessions, including IISG education team
November 15th, 2013 by Irene MilesThe 3rd Annual Great Lakes Place-based Education Conference, November 7-9 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, brought together over 200 teachers, community representatives, non-profit organization educators, and more. The conference gives teachers an opportunity to incorporate the latest place-based research and education concepts about the Great Lakes into their lessons, encouraging student stewardship, continuing science education, and community development.
Representatives of the CGLL program from seven Great Lakes Sea Grant programs were on hand to talk with attendees about the wide array of resources available, many specifically tailored to the environmental needs and issues of their region. Classroom resources were also available, including Fresh and Salt and Greatest of the Great Lakes curricula, as well as the Dose of Reality newspaper activity guide that covers the disposal of unwanted medicines and personal care products.
Nearshore buoy wraps up another successful season of Lake Michigan data collection
October 31st, 2013 by Irene MilesBuoy-watchers will have more to look forward to in 2014, as this winter the buoy will be getting an upgrade. Thanks in part to a grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Lake Michigan Coastal Program awarded to IISG’s Tomas Hӧӧk, the buoy will broadcast real-time temperatures at different depths during the 2014 season and beyond. The buoy has always collected surface water temperature, but now it will also collect temperatures approximately every three feet from the surface to the bottom of the lake.
“We are very excited to install this chain of temperature loggers”, said Carolyn Foley, IISG assistant research coordinator who will help implement the new chain. “A number of groups told us they would use this information, from kayakers wanting to know if it’s warm enough to go for a paddle to anglers wanting to know where the best fishing will be.”
We would like to hear from anyone who uses the buoy data, particularly anglers, paddlers, and others who use southern Lake Michigan for recreation, as well as educators interested in using buoy data in their classrooms. If you 1) are an educator in grades 8-12 interested in participating in a workshop to acquire data sets for teaching and to develop lesson plans with buoy data, 2) have feedback related to improving the buoy website, and/or 3) would like to suggest an outdoor show for us to attend, please send us an email (iisg@purdue.edu) with “Buoy feedback” in the subject line. We expect to redeploy buoy in mid-May 2014.
Special thanks to the staff of the Indiana DNR Michigan City Field Office for their help deploying and retrieving the buoy.
Great Lakes Awareness Day at Shedd Aquarium demonstrates the importance of the Lakes
October 16th, 2013 by Irene Miles
“To put it bluntly, Great Lakes Awareness Day was a huge success. There was maybe only a moment or two during the 3-hour event that exhibits weren’t crowded with people ready to learn more about aquatic invasive species, habitat restoration, and pollution from unwanted medications and unnecessary lawn care products. In the back-lit glow of the aquarium’s Water of the World galleries, children and adults became detectives on the hunt for aquatic invaders, saw how pollutants from streets and lawns flow into waterways with the help of a three-dimensional model, tested their knowledge of pharmaceutical pollution, and drew pictures of plants and animals important to Great Lakes health. Perhaps the biggest hit of the day was Spin-Fish-Win, an aquatic invasive species (AIS) trivia game.
No matter what part of the event they joined in on, though, these Shedd visitors were clearly interested in talking about important Great Lakes issues–sharing what they know and asking questions about what they didn’t. People I talked with were particularly interested in learning more about Asian carp, asking questions like “what makes them so bad,” “what can we do to stop their spread,” and even “can’t we just eat them?” Visitors were also surprised to learn about the impact pharmaceuticals have on fish and other aquatic organisms and wanted to know how they could safely rid their cabinets of unwanted medicines. And a father and his son took advantage of an AIS art contest to clear up rumors they had heard about some invaders and get up to date on the newest species knocking on the Great Lakes’ door.
Joining IISG staffers at the event were teachers and students from area schools who came to share what they are doing in their communities to protect water quality and aquatic wildlife. LaToyia Gilbert and her students talked about bringing medicine disposal ‘dos and don’ts’ to citizens and pharmacy technicians in Gary, IN.
Latoyia was inspired to create this project based on what she learned at the recent Great Lakes B-WET workshop. Jim Doyiakos and students from Amundsen High School introduced visitors to the risks of invasive species. And Ronald Hall’s 41st Street Beach Eco Warriors from Evergreen Academy Middle School shared their experiences picking up trash and monitoring water quality at Chicago’s 41st Street Beach.Thanks to a Shedd Aquarium teacher workshop going on that same day, some of the people who stopped by the exhibits were also teachers looking for ways to bring Great Lakes science into their classrooms. Many of these teachers took pictures of the displays or copies of the handouts so they could replicate the activities later. Others sought advice from teachers manning exhibits about potential stewardship projects they could do with their students. One teacher who helped with the event even asked if it could be repeated in the spring so her students could present their own projects.”
SeaPerch contest winners get their robots up and running
October 14th, 2013 by Irene MilesLast month, we announced that six teachers from the Champaign-Urbana area had won tool kits for constructing simple, remotely operated underwater robots with their students. With the help of online lesson plans, the winning teachers will use the SeaPerch robots to teach their students about topics including buoyancy, propulsion, circuitry, and biological sampling.
Along with the kits, teachers got an opportunity to learn construction techniques and practice using the equipment during one of two SeaPerch Build Sessions held in October. During the sessions, Blake Landry, coordinator of the University of Illinois SeaPerch Program, took teachers step-by-step through the build process.
The winning teachers have big plans for their robots. Some will use them to introduce their younger students to basic engineering concepts for the first time. In other classrooms, the robots will provide an opportunity for students to test their knowledge of things like simple circuits. Some teachers are even considering partnering up to start an after-school club that will compete in the national SeaPerch Challenge. With these six teachers now using SeaPerch, there is also a possibility that they may launch a regional SeaPerch Challenge.
The SeaPerch giveaway contest was funded by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant to help teachers in the Great Lakes region integrate science education with engineering and math.
Visit the SeaPerch homepage to learn more about the tool kits and the SeaPerch program.
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8H5fHUy9wbQ/Ulw7buh-MxI/AAAAAAAACW8/6xtWdaQ0b88/s320/seaperch1.jpg)
Top: Blake shows Carol Smith and Geoff Frymuth how to use the tools provided in the SeaPerch teacher’s kit. Carol is a 5th grade teacher at Leal Elementary School in Urbana, and Geoff teaches 7th grade science at Champaign’s Jefferson Middle School.
Middle: Carol practices stripping electrical wires used to connect the three motorized propellers that steer the underwater robots. Stripping wires and building motors are just a few of the many engineering tasks her students will have to do when they build their own robots in the spring.
Bottom: Carol, Geoff, and Jen White, an 8th grade science teacher at Jefferson Middle School, take notes as Blake shows how to install and waterproof the motors and secure the frame of a completed SeaPerch robot.
Urbana fourth grade class engages in some fish talk
October 11th, 2013 by Irene MilesMr. Valencic got the idea to bring Great Lakes issues to his class at Wiley Elementary School in Urbana, IL after spending a week aboard the U.S. EPA R/V Lake Guardian this summer for the annual Shipboard and Shoreline Workshop. During the week, he and 14 other formal and non-formal educators worked alongside scientists as they collected data on Lake Ontario. This year, participants collected samples from different locations to monitor water quality, studied species at the bottom of the food web, and learned more about organisms living on the lakebed. Sea Grant officials on board paired hand-on research with curriculum activities to help teachers better incorporate Great Lakes science into their classrooms.
6th Grade teacher uses workshop experience to train student scientists
October 9th, 2013 by Irene Miles“The B-WET workshop presented teachers with so much information it would be impossible to not get inspired!” said Ms. Spentzos-Inghram. “They had a lineup of AMAZING presenters from a variety of organizations to promote their efforts, which made it a one-stop shop for information about bringing Great Lakes science into the classroom.”
Purdue’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources celebrates 100 years
September 25th, 2013 by Irene MilesThe Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) celebrated their centennial anniversary from September 20-22, and included back-to-class sessions, tours of FNR buildings including the aquaculture research laboratory, and a Saturday evening banquet. More than 250 guests, including many FNR alumni, joined in the celebrations.
FNR has spent the past 100 years training professional foresters, fishery and wildlife scientists, and natural resource managers who help to preserve and protect environmental resources throughout the country.
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) has proudly partnered with FNR for more than 30 years. Brian Miller, IISG Program Director, said, “The Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program highly values our 30 year partnership between NOAA, Purdue University, and the University of Illinois. This type of bi-state partnership only works in one other Sea Grant college in the country, and only works because of the mission-driven spirit of collaboration that exists on both of our campuses. The innovation, dedication and creativity of FNR have helped make the Illinois-Indiana Sea grant college program successful and enabled us to achieve positive impacts for local communities and the Great Lakes ecosystem.”
Recent IISG work was showcased during a welcome reception Friday night, and IISG staff assisted in organizing several of the celebration events throughout the weekend. Numerous current IISG staff members have worked closely with FNR, including Miller, Angela Archer, Carolyn Foley, Tomas Hӧӧk, Kwamena Quagrainie, and Kara Salazar, and the partnership continues to offer a crucial link in protecting coastal areas and waterways.
*Photos courtesy the FNR Centennial Committee
Winning teachers chosen in the IISG SeaPerch giveaway
September 5th, 2013 by Irene MilesThe SeaPerch Program, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, brings robotics and underwater science together to enhance classroom activities and curricula for a variety of grade levels. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant recently sponsored a contestto give away several of the kits to teachers of grades 6-12, and the six winners will be receiving their new kits in the coming weeks. Blake Landry, project partner and coordinator of the University of Illinois’ SeaPerch Program, is working with IISG to provide continued support and training to the teachers and their students.
In addition to offering a new tool to teachers, the contest helps to further activity and curriculum development and provides educators an opportunity to network and share their ideas with others. All of which complements IISG’s goal of fostering Great Lakes science literacy and engagement throughout the region.
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- IISG is looking for a K-12 educator with digital development experience
- Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant announces funding for southern Lake Michigan region research
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