Ocean FEST: Families Exploring Science Together (OEDG Track 1)

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education (C-MORE), based at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, is partnering with the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) to offer Ocean FEST (Families Exploring Science Together). This ocean-themed after school family science program is aimed at increasing diversity in the geosciences among members of groups that have been traditionally underrepresented and underserved in Hawaii, including Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. The two-hour evening program will feature hands-on science activities on environmentally relevant topics such as marine micro-organisms, coral reef ecology, density and currents, climate change and sea level rise, ocean color and remote sensing, and ocean acidification. All activities are aligned with state science standards and Ocean Literacy Principles. The program concludes with a career component, emphasizing the value of geoscience careers to - and job opportunities in - the local community. By exposing both students and their families to fun, engaging science and geoscience career paths, it is expected that this project will have a positive impact on student academic achievement and workforce diversity. Classroom teachers assist with program delivery, and each event is preceded by thirty minutes of teacher professional development. Twenty events will be conducted each year, reaching a total of ~2400 middle school students, an equal number of parents and ~480 educators over the three-year project period.