Elementary school chosen to participate in 'underwater expedition'
Starting next week, some Goessel students will get the chance to participate in something foreign to the Kansas resident: oceanography.
Goessel Elementary School has been chosen from thousands of elementary and high schools across the country to participate in "Extreme 2002: Mission to the Abyss."
Goessel is the only Kansas school chosen to participate.
The program, which is sponsored by the University of Delaware, gives students an in-depth look at an underwater expedition in the Pacific Ocean. That includes curriculum materials, a special Web site with exclusive access to the researchers' findings, and — for the special few — a phone call with the scientists.
Goessel is one of those few.
GES teacher Jackie Jordan, who teaches science, math, and social studies for fifth and sixth grades, applied for the program during the past summer. She learned that Goessel was accepted at the beginning of the school year.
"I'm really excited about the opportunity," she said.
Although 500 schools will be allowed to follow the expedition through the Web site, Goessel is one of just 50 who were chosen to participate in the conference call.
Goessel's conference call is set for the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 8. Around 12 other schools will participate in the call, Jordan said.
According to the "Mission to the Abyss" informational Web site, that phone call may take place with a satellite phone, allowing the scientists to talk to students while they're 3,000 meters under the Pacific Ocean. That's almost two miles underwater.
The expedition, which begins this Sunday, will take scientists underwater in a submersible vessel called "Alvin" to study hydrothermic vents, Jordan said.
Jordan is bringing her fifth and sixth grade students along for the experience.
The program coincides with some of the other subjects her class studies in science. They began the "Mission to the Abyss" curriculum this week, Jordan said.
