On Location in Israel: Project Overview

As you read this letter a team of students from the University of New England are on a unique trip that will combine marine research with cutting edge education initiatives. Working on a joint project with the Gulf of Maine Aquarium (GMA) and the University of New England (UNE), the students intend to study the coral reefs of the Red Sea. This is no ordinary research trip; this project is dedicated to finding out why coral reefs are disappearing at an alarming rate and reporting this information back to classrooms all over Maine.

We will be working together with the Gulf of Maine Aquarium for the summer semester (August 7-15). Our goals are to update the Gulf of Maine Aquarium's "On Location" segment of their web site using digital cameras, video and audio, and then sending it back every day to the internet via satellite. In addition, we will be setting up an educational program for elementary, middle and high school students in New England. The students will be able to e-mail, and possibly even chat with UNE students on location in Isreal. Thus, we can show them the beauty of coral reefs in, almost real time. This will be the ultimate community outreach for both the University of New England and the Gulf of Maine Aquarium, and a great educational opportunity for you and your students.

This will be a excellent opportunity to inspire marine conservation among students from an early age. I hope you and your students will take advantage of this opportunity to log on and learn!

The principal parts of this section include:

Meet the Researchers: Learn a little about the background of each of the people conducting research, and get an introduction to their research topic.

About Coral Reefs Compare the Tropical ecosystem with cold water systems such as the Gulf of Maine

Classroom Activities: Check out our classroom-ready learning activities. Included are two ways to communicate with the researchers: Message Board and Email! We may also set up a chat time. If so, watch What's New Today: for details.

Links and Bibliography: To learn more about the Red Sea, use this handy list of other web sites and basic references used by the researchers. If you have any suggestions for additions, please email them to us!

Chat: As their diving schedule allows, the researchers will join us each day to chat about their work. The seven hour time difference from EST to Israel makes frequent chats difficult, but we will post notices in What's New Today whenever we have a chat time set up.

Photo Gallery: Here we'll put images which don't fit directly into any other pages, but that we find too interesting not to include somewhere. To save you time in downloading images you might not need, each image is just a thumbnail, with a link to get a full view for the ones you're interested in.

Message Board: If you can't join us during the chat times, check out our Message Board: Join a conversation or start a new one. The researchers will check it whenever they are able!

What's New Today: Check in on this page to quickly find where the latest information and images from Israel may be found.