PA Sea Grant's Lake Erie Shipboard Science Education Program
Brings Science to Life!
Pennsylvania Sea Grant’s award-winning shipboard education program has engaged over 14,000 students in experiential learning aboard research vessels docked along the coastline of Pennsylvania's Lake Erie and Presque Isle. The hands-on approach to science, education, and research activities help students and adults understand the vast underwater world of Lake Erie.
Participants learn about water quality, water resources and the overall health and Lake Erie through science-based, hands-on activities. Such activities might include using a Ponar dredge to sample sediments, deploying underwater robotic units and cameras to explore the lake floor environment, conducting water chemistry testing, collecting samples with a plankton net, and much more.
Activities take place aboard research vessels, combing the waters of Lake Erie and Presque Isle to uncover the science below the waters surface.
Pictured above are the Lettie G. Howard, the Friendship Sloop, and the Environaut - three examples of the research vessels used in the shipboard education program.
Meet the summer 2018 shipboard education crew
Read more about the shipboard education program, including background about Lake Erie, detailed overviews of the different activities, safety and on boat protocols,and in-class lessons.