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OR&R Participates in NOAA Science Camp 2014

NOAA's Western Regional Center campus hosted two weeks of science camp for junior high students.

Campers visited multiple NOAA line offices to learn about many different branches of oceanic and atmospheric science.

OR&R Assessment and Restoration Division (ARD) staff Jessica Winter and Ryan Ulsberger led a session on watersheds, in which campers learned to read topographic maps, simulated groundwater flow through different types of aquifers, and modeled nonpoint source pollution and brainstormed methods to clean up, contain, and prevent watershed pollution. Marla Steinhoff led an activity in which campers learned about toxicology, sampling design, data analysis, and mapping. Campers tested water samples for dissolved oxygen, pH, and various toxic chemicals. They evaluated results relative to concentrations of concern and mapped results in order to solve a mystery fish kill.

OR&R Emergency Response Division (ERD) staff including Chris Barker, Nickie Scillo, Amy MacFadyen, Gary Shigenaka, Nicolle Rutherford, Dylan Righi, Alice Drury, and Mark Dix led students through an exercise simulating the response to an oil spill. After being briefed about ERD’s scientific support roles during oil spills, students were surprised by a phone call in to the War Room reporting a fictional oil spill in Puget Sound. Students were then recruited to help answer questions pertaining to this "spill" including how the oil would behave, where it would go, what resources might be affected, and what shorelines might be most sensitive.

For further information, contact Jessica.Winter@noaa.gov or Chris.Barker@noaa.gov.

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Last updated Tuesday, November 8, 2022 1:54pm PST