Hey guys! Thanks so much for following us through this whole week; I hope you learned as much as I did! Just one question: where has this week gone? I feel like we just got here, but we’re suddenly filming exit interviews and debrief. Though sad, debrief was a great time to reflect and be thankful for this week and all we had learned and done. The exit interviews reminded me of why I was out here, too: so I can go back and encourage other people to take interest in science and the Earth!

Today wasn’t all sad though: we got the opportunity to go swimming in the Mediterranean! The water is such a beautiful royal blue, you wouldn’t believe it. And the visibility is amazing! (We used a Secchi disk and got about 30 meters.) We had fun jumping from the platform into the cool water, taking underwater snapshots, and just joking around. I kept thinking, "Remember this, because this is a once in a lifetime moment." But then I remembered that it doesn’t have to be! People actually have jobs like this, and I hope that I’ll one day work in a setting and environment like this one.

We did some filming aside from the good-byes, too. The most interesting was the tour of the ROVs. First of all, I don’t think people realize how big they are. I certainly didn’t! Hercules was taller than Teacher Argo Jason, so it was easily taller than me. Argus, while not as big, weighs about 2 tons! Another interesting fact I didn’t know: Hercules has a tiki screwed into it for good luck. I loved learning about all the different functions Hercules has: temperature, cameras, dissolved oxygen, a manipulator arm... and that’s just to start! I also got to learn about the functions of Argus, which I didn’t know before. I can only imagine how much time in total has been put into these robots! The only one who went away disappointed was Jason, who wanted to sit in the crane’s chair.

One of my favorite parts of the entire trip was probably the people. It’s mostly an American ship, but I met people from around the world, including Canada and Australia! Everyone was so welcoming and helpful, too. One guy in particular, Marty, a teacher from Wisconsin, showed us around Hercules on the first day. He was always there for us, and gave us a ton of useful and/or interesting information! Jeff, the cook, was also with us a lot. Though he can get upset if you litter or wear shoes in the lounge, he tells the best stories and knows a TON of random facts. I’ve had so much fun getting to know everyone, whether we’re taking pictures of the sunset, looking at Hercules, or playing cards. These people aren’t just scientists; they’re normal people, too!

Speaking of people, Dr. Katy Croff Bell. Love her! She is one of the sweetest people I know. She’s so willing to help and teach us about, well, anything! She answered all our questions, both on and off the film, and always listened to us. She has a great personality, too: every time she finished a piece, she would give a thumbs up to the camera, or wink. At one point, we were taking photos, and she started singing as she held her finger to a map of Kolumbo. Also, she started teaching me Greek! She started by encouraging me to name the letters I knew, then taught me a few more, then helped me to change the Greek names of boats into English. We were all so lucky and thankful for having met her. For those of you who think scientists are all super smart people who sit in a lab all day and have no social skills, think again!

One of the big things today for everyone on board was our first sighting of Italy. It’s so beautiful! (Mom, if you’re reading this, I’m taking lots of pictures for you.) We haven’t seen any whirlpools (yet), but I got my first glimpse of a flying fish and wild dolphins. I’m looking forward to actually landing and exploring so much! This is my first time out of the country, and what a place to visit.

Tip for future Argonauts: Functional hair styles! Sweat and wind don’t mix well with bangs, so you’ll notice that about halfway through I started braiding mine: much better!

My day started with the end of another; with me shooting a spot for my radio/TV broadcasting class. Then, because of jet lag, I ended up staying up extremely late. In fact, I didn’t fall asleep till around 1:30am (Tip for future Argos: DO NOT DO THAT!). But, during that time I was able to hang out with an Educator at Sea named Marty. He was a really cool guy who showed us some really interesting things on Hercules, like the fact it has a small tiki on it for good luck. He even let me sit in on his Nautilus live show! But the coolest thing of the night came around midnight when I was wandering the ship and noticed a set of ladders that led atop what I would later find out was the bridge. So like any true explorer, my curiosity got the better of me and I climbed up and sat down. What I saw was one of the most the most serene, beautiful, majestic things I’ve ever seen in my life. It was a magnificent view of the ocean at night from above the bow of the ship.

The next morning I was like a zombie, mainly because I had only had about four hours of sleep. Although Jason and I were up, the other three Argos wouldn’t be awake for another few hours. As if designed to further challenge us right before we were about to start filming, we had a fire drill and safety briefing. We had to go down to our cabins and get life-jackets. After that, we went up four flights of stairs all the way up to the muster deck. There, the ship's officers called off our names to make sure we were all accounted for. Shortly after, we went down a floor and were told what to do in case of emergencies and taught how to put on the survival suit, which basically looks like giant footy pajamas with a hood and oven mitts attached. Although the drill and briefing went well, it put us behind about an hour.

Finally, after all of the delays we started to shoot. We started off with Dr. Katy Croff Bell explaining and discussing ocean abiotic factors (salinity, temperature, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and density). Katy explained not only how each factor was measured but how research sites were impacted when one of these factors was too high or low. It was amazing how in the areas of the Black Sea with no oxygen were perfect for preserving the shipwrecks she looks for. Even more interesting was how the sites around the undersea volcano Kolumbo had such high temperatures and low acidity stopping all but bacteria from living near the slopes of this growing volcano.

Then we got to move onto the bridge for a map reading rundown where she showed us recent maps of Kolumbo and Santorini where they recently finished research - which was pretty cool. It has been only in the past few years that scientists have begun to understand this new volcano better.

Last, she took us to the control van and showed us where the ROV pilots sit, as well as the video crew and navigator. It was awesome! We even got to manipulate the control for Herc’s arm!

But that wasn’t all - between shoots we managed to convince Katy and Marty to try the infamous Bacon Toothpaste! Which Katy wants to keep on the ship now for people who forgot to bring some!

After dinner, I ended the day by watching the sunset on the bow of the ship.

Looking forward: Now that the day has come to a conclusion the main thing I’m looking forward to is sleep and starting the next day of ”life on the Nautilus.”

Leaving South Bend, Indiana and knowing that I was going to fly on four different planes over the next two days, I was extremely nervous. I also remembered I was going to be a great distance from my parents. But then I remembered I will be with the other student Argonauts and surrounded by wonderful teachers. TaShawn, Lucinda and I first flew to Atlanta and then on to Boston (this was nothing new). There we met the rest of the Argonauts and our crew. Then we were to fly overnight to Munich; this was a totally different experience. None of us slept well. We were no longer at home; we were with strangers who spoke a different language. Our plane landed extremely late only giving us 25 minutes to getting to our next flight, which was to Crete. On top of that we struggled with the signs, and because none of us speak German, we were nervous about making our flight. Luckily we made it and arrived in Crete later that day. We took a bus to our hotel in Iraklion, got our rooms, and then headed out for our first adventures.

I have never taken so many pictures. Even walking down the street, seeing a poster for an American movie translated into Greek language was shocking for us. We walked to a nearby restaurant, ordering sweet and salty crepes. Knowing the food was completely different, we were willing to try knowing that this was a once in a life time chance.

There were so many things to see in Crete, so we took advantage of whatever we had the opportunity to see. Taking advantage of every second, we right away bought tickets to the Palace of Knossos. This is the place where the legend of the Minotaur was born. After getting dropped off from public bus, we were soon to find out that the palace was already closed. Disappointed at not being able to see the palace, we went back to the hotel and went to the roof top. No doubt that was the most beautiful view I have ever seen before. Seeing the sunset, roof tops of homes, and mountains was just a dream in reality. We ordered virgin strawberry daiquiris and Greek snacks to set the relaxing atmosphere. To make the night more interesting, we sent Peter to get playing cards. Returning from the shop, Peter explained to us in excitement that the city was full of teenagers out and about. We decided to go and take a look for ourselves, so we walked to a nearby gelato shop. The streets were full of Greek joy; the people made you want to join the fun.

Walking up to the E/V Nautilus was an awesome feeling. I remembered what I went through and how hard I worked to get here. I felt proud of my work because all of the essays, interviews, and meetings were worth it. Boarding was the most nerve wracking part, thinking that you were going to fall and end your trip right there. Host researcher Dr. Katy Croff Bell gave us a tour of the ship and made sure were situated in our rooms. We introduced ourselves to the others who will be traveling with us for the next couple days. I loved hearing the different stories and their backgrounds. We received a lot of compliments about being so young and having the opportunity to be on the Nautilus. It’s crazy to think that I’m on Dr. Robert Ballard’s ship and was actually able to watch firsthand what it takes to achieve these wonderful discoveries. Meeting Katy was amazing. While travelling on this ship of exploration to Palermo, Italy I will be able to have a conversation with her. This is a complete blessing.

While doing this trip I’m looking to get a better understand of oceanography and the different types of jobs that are on the Nautilus. I have already seen many historical sites, but I’m always ready to see more. Just leaving the United States was a big experience for me, so I know the next couple of nights will be over the top for me. I am of course looking forward to having a good trip, if you haven’t noticed, it has already started off on a wonderful note. I have a pretty good prediction that the rest of the trip will be the same, if not better, because I know my parents left me in the hands of wonderful Argonauts. This is only the second night and I’ve already seen many beautiful parts of Greece and learned so much!

Student Argo Jacob Zamora's Day

During today’s experience with The JASON Project, the team and I started the day off with a visit to the Mystic Aquarium. There at the Mystic Aquarium, we visited the stingray touch tank where we fed and got to have a hands-on look at sting rays, and the occasional little shark. After the visit with the stingrays, we went for a behind the scenes whale training experience at the aquarium. There, we talked with one of the trainers and got a firsthand look at the whale training. We met the Beluga whale, Juno. Another thing we did during the last day was visit the University of Rhode Island. There we got a tour of the facility and the computer room where they recieve live footage from the Nautilus and ROV Hercules. When we left the tour, the team and I went to a marsh on Barns Island where we searched for marine wildlife and learned about the marshes and how old they can be and other descriptions.

What I liked about today’s experience was the marsh land visit. The reason I liked the marsh lands was because we got to get in the water and try to catch fish and crabs and what-not. I actually caught three crabs while searching! For me that was the most exciting part of the trip.


Student Argo Tiberiu Puican's Day

Now, at the end of the third day, all of us are just looking back over our shoulders to see what we have done today. After an early breakfast, we went to the Mystic Aquarium and started with feeding and playing with the stingrays. It’s a strange feeling to have your hand sucked by them when they eat. It is a great, great experience. After that we went to see the Beluga whales being trained and learned more about them. We hurried to see the bird exhibit and the penguins.

After the aquarium, we had a quick lunch and went to the University of Rhode Island where we met Dr. Katy Croff Bell and found out more about Nautilus and what we will all be doing on the ship in the fall. We then took a tour of the Inner Space Center and saw how all the data from all the expeditions is centralized. The studios were fantastic.

From URI we went to Barn Island in Connecticut and went through a marsh and explored the shore. The first thing we did was to use a huge net to study the ecosystem and what a types of animals live there. A thing that was very interesting about the marsh was the fact that we could figure out that it is over 150 years old by just trying to measure the thickness of the ground. It was a great day of JASON experiences and I must say I have learned that we have to pass over our inhibitions and just feel the moments because there is the chance that you may just not observe the good parts of what you are doing.



Student Argo Colin Janison's Day

Since today was the last day, we seemed to have the best time out of the three days! We woke up around 7:45 and had breakfast in the hotel and then took off to the Mystic Aquarium. When we arrived at the aquarium we were greeted by a trainer that took us into the Beluga whale exhibit as she fed and trained Juno, (the youngest and only male in the exhibit at 8 years old.)

After we left the aquarium we drove to URI (University of Rhode Island) to get a Nautilus walk through and demonstration of the boat from three previous participants and got to meet DR. KATY CROFF BELL! After we left the theater area we were given a tour by Dr. Dwight Coleman. He gave us a look around the Inner Space Center and the URI Graduate Oceanography campus and control room.

My favorite activity of the day had to be the Nautilus run through from chief researcher Dr. Katy Croff Bell. Even just from a little bit of a lecture she got me even more engaged in the upcoming trip.

From URI we drove back to Mystic and traveled near Barn Island. We took a short, dirty walkway to get back to an extremely small beach where we seined and searched with nets for animal life that were mostly baby animals. While seining, we caught many small animals such as shrimp, numerous types of fish, and plenty of crabs. I had a great time at Boot Camp, and am excited about boarding the Nautilus!


Teacher Argo Lucinda Reese's Day

Today was Thursday, Day 3 of Argonaut Boot Camp… our last and final day. This morning wake up calls rang calling all Argos to arise and file down to an early morning breakfast. As our group of giggling teenagers began congregating in the breakfast area of the hotel, there was an unspoken bittersweet feeling amongst us all. Although our intense week had just begun two days prior to this morning, the sincere bond that had already formed was an inevitable result. The long and intense hours of learning together thus far, had caused us to form sort of a family type of bond, one that would last a lifetime. Being that it was, in fact, our last full day of adventures together, the reality that it was all coming to and end very soon, began to set in.

First stop around 8:30am, was a behind the scenes experience at the Mystic Aquarium where we met with a whale trainer who walked us through the process, challenges and rewarding experience of training Juno, a Beluga Whale. The young Argonauts definitely took full advantage of this moment confidently probing Juno’s trainer and curiously grabbing hold to every word of knowledge that she shared.

During this morning’s visit to the aquarium, the young Argo’s were also able to make a quick stop in the bird exhibit. Although short, the visit was a blast of excitement to take part in. We strolled around inside of what look like a huge birdcage and fed the birds that were brave enough to say hello up close as we invaded their playground. It was a really enjoyable experience to be able to mix in with these beautiful birds inside of their personal space of the aquarium. But I have to share, that even after taking extra precautions avoiding the path directly beneath the rows of birds that lined the ceiling of the cages, it turns out I wasn’t watchful enough! One of my new brightly colored feathered friends decided to send me along my way by dropping a personal gift on the shoulder strap of my backpack! Sadly, but unmistakably sure, I was hit with bird droppings!

As the day rolled on, our wonderful hosts, the JASON Project Coordinators made sure that we didn’t miss a meal! In fact, they fed us well along our journey, making sure that we enjoyed indulging in many of the local flavors! Since this is a publicly shared blog, I can’t say that I felt some peer pressure going on... but YES, I was coaxed, dared, pushed and firmly convinced to eat things like SNAIL SALAD! Can you believe that?!?! Ok, ok, it didn’t happen quite like that at all. Seriously, I am thankful my fellow educators for the week did gently encourage me to expand my horizons and try tasting flavorful clam “stuffie” and some fried calamari. No, I probably won’t be ordering either one of these dishes in the future, it was nice to share this experience amongst the most wonderful company I could’ve had for the week!

Two other stops we made as the hours of our final day flew by, was to The University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. Then later on hiking through the wet and muddy marsh lands of Barn Island, in the New England Sound of Connecticut. My preference of the two was the URI visit. It was one of the most interesting visits to me because we were able to tour the control center that communicates live with teams on expeditions. During this visit we were also able to view “amphora” and other artifacts that have been found on different ocean expeditions. I’ve always loved seeing ancient artifacts in person because it’s always pushed my thoughts into imagining what life was like at the moment that exact artifact was created and/or commonly present in our history.

Lastly, as the evening came to a close, it was a little sad. We Argonauts, found ourselves inside of yet another wonderful moment that brought us even closer to one another. As all of us took a moment to express our gratitude for having the opportunity to travel this road to becoming an official Argonaut, it became an emotional time. I promised myself all week that I was not going to break down and cry from all the feelings that overwhelmed my heart throughout this beginning process.


Teacher Argo Dennis Durkin's Day

Our day started off bright and early at the Mystic Aquarium to become involved in a whale training demonstration. Kim, a staff trainer explained the operant conditioning techniques she uses to train Juno, a 1,400 lb Beluga whale. She was able to answer our many questions about a whale’s body structure, behavior and ability to use echolocation. It was a fascinating experience to be so close to Juno and watch the interaction between trainer and whale.

After spending some time feeding an assortment of birds in the new bird sanctuary we were off to lunch and then to the University of Rhode Island’s Inner Space Center.

When we arrived at the center, we were greeted by Dr Katy Croff Bell, our host scientist and introduced to what life on the Nautilus would be like during our fall expeditions. The excitement of accompanying the research team only grew when we toured the Inner Space Center. Dwight Coleman guided us through the facility and explained the various satellite links and the process of transmitting live data from expedition vessels to researchers around the world. We also learned about the oceanography programs at the university.

A few hours later, we were on the road again and journeyed to Barn Island in Connecticut to study an estuary shoreline and marshland. The Argonauts-in-training were instructed in the art of seining which involved dragging a twenty foot net toward the shore to capture native organisms. They then sorted and studied an assortment of fish, blue and green crabs, shrimp and plant life before returning them safely to the water. After seining we walked into the spongy marsh and tried to determine the age of the marsh. It was well over 150 years old. The sulphur smell of the marsh told us that it was healthy and able to sustain a variety of life and were actually able to eat a sample of rope grass from the marsh which tasted like salty celery. We then took our muddy and wet selves back to our hotel for well earned clean up. It was another productive day and it was great to see the enthusiasm of the team.

At our final dinner at the aquarium we officially earned our Argonaut title and reflected on our time at boot camp. It is exciting to think that our recent experiences and the future ones aboard the Nautilus will be documented on the JASON website and in the upcoming curriculum on oceanography. I hope that our experiences will motivate educators and students to use the varied resources of JASON in their classrooms and stay in contact with us as we continue our adventures in the fall. We will be online during the expeditions so we look forward to answering all your questions and sharing our thoughts and experiences.

Student Argo Darryl Prevost's Day

For the second day of boot camp I believe that as a group we grew a stronger bond for each other. Today we had chance to investigate on Project Oceanolography’s research boat. The Argonauts had chance to work on different parts of the total investigation. We then compared all the data. I think we had our instructors Judy and Lauren impressed with our conclusions.


After our spectacular time on the boat we all went to Mystic Aquarium a watched a footage of the Nautilus Live appearance which was good for us to get a good thought on what talking live would be like. To ease the down the day with a little entertainment we got a chance to watch the sea lion show.

I enjoyed most having a chance to watch Dr. Ballard on screen while learning about the Nautilus.


Student Argo Erin Walsh’s Day

Hello fellow scientists! Our group today had a great time learning about biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) aspects of oceanography by exploring the Long Island Sound with Project Oceanology. First, we studied the abiotic factors in the Sound, such as salinity, temperature, and clarity. Then, we split into groups and had the chance to measure these factors! We also used a net called an outer trawl (pronounced “otter trawl”) to catch various forms of sea life, such as sea stars and spider crabs, and got to study and play with them, which we had a TON of fun with!

After that: Mystic Aquarium, where we had some free time to explore the amazing exhibits and animals (fun fact: did you know nine Argonauts can fit into a model submarine?). We also got to watch a presentation on the ship we’ll be staying on later (the Nautilus), and watched a sea lion show!

One of the things that struck me was the HUGE variety of ocean life (my favorite being the sea robin, which has both fins and feet). I also had the pleasure of smelling sediment from the bottom of the Long Island Sound! I’m having the time of life learning about things I love, and meeting some of the most amazing people…I’m so glad I’m here!


Studet Argo Hilary Rodriguez' Day

What we did as a group was talking about he different kinds of animals that there are in the ocean. We also learned what an “outer trawl” was. The people from here pronounce it like “otter troll” An outer trawl is a net shaped like an ice-cream cone and it had two doors that hold on to the net when it goes underwater to catch the sea life. The boat was awesome because we were playing with mud and playing with the fish and guess what I ate a worm (just kidding!) We caught flounder, crab, squid, sea robins and many more fish.

My personal experience with the trip so far is very awesome they treat me like I’m a princess. Well enough about me, let’s talk about the day! I got to learn about new kinds of fish that I didn’t even know existed. This trip has been very educational for me and this is a chance of a lifetime for me and everybody else who came. The Mystic Aquarium was very awesome because I saw a blue lobster I was like WOW!!! That’s cool.

Teacher Argo Romeo Cruz’ Day

A refreshing and more insightful day was delivered by our very experienced JASON Program Coordinators today. After a brief breakfast, we headed to our first adventure of the day and climbed onto a small ship run by Project Oceanology. There everyone had an opportunity to take on a task to learn about what oceanography is and start on very hands-on activities. Groups were split up to figure out the salinity, pH, light, ocean floor, visibility, etc. After the activities were conducted, many of the youth found themselves discussing possible career changes. For others, they found a world that a world really existed outside of their normal urban neighborhoods.

We then journeyed to the Mystic Aquarium where we were able to split into groups and explore as much as we could to learn about all sorts of marine life soon found ourselves in another part of the aquarium where the mock vessel Argo is displayed and available for patrons to explore The Nautilus Live exhibit proved to be a refresher as we heard what we may be participating in when we head out in international waters either in September or November on our upcoming research expedition.

For the future Teacher Argonauts, I’d recommend getting into the habit of having very little sleep, long days and nights, and the capability and mindset of hard work. As a teacher, we must remember why we started teaching in the first place and regain that spark and passion for changing these kids lives. To provide opportunities for them that normally they wouldn’t be able to experience on their own, to not force kids to do their work but to motivate them to want to do it, to get back to the roots of teaching and make an impact like no other. What is going to make your classroom better than anyone else’s? Compete against yourself to have the best class in having fun and learning at the same time and you will get excited again. Don’t be content with mediocrity.

Today was a very exciting day for all of us. Not only did we get to start our JASON adventure, but we got to meet people from all over the country and even from outside the country. We started out by getting up bright and early. Each of us trying to make it to Providence, RI in order to start our JASON experience.


For me, today was probably one of the most exciting days of my life. It started for me by waking up at 5 am so I could make it to the airport (which is far away). This was exciting and scary because I had not been on an airplane since I was two. I was scared but as soon as the plane took off I knew I would be OK. I landed in DC (without seeing
the White House) and connected to my next flight. Before I knew it I was in Providence meeting the JASON crew. I met my fellow Argos and they were great. I felt at ease. I can tell this is going to be a “hoot.”

After we had all arrived at the airport in Providence we drove to Mystic, CT. There we checked into our hotel and set out for the Mystic Aquarium. At the aquarium we did something I had never done before. We ate dinner in one of the exhibits. After dinner we drove back to the hotel where we had a group meeting with everybody. We talked about everything from how to stay healthy on our expedition to how important it was to follow directions. We also talked about what we will be doing in the following days. (please read our following journals) After this, we played a game that really built our teamwork skills. We all had to get in a huddle and put all our hands in the middle. After this we grabbed somebody’s hands. Our hands were all tangled up. After tangling we had to try and unravel without letting go of each other’s hands. This was a great game and we did it fast. After that we went to bed.


Student Argo TaShawn Reese’s Day

Today we arrived in Providence a little after noon where we were promptly greeted by Peter and a few of the other JASON staff. We also met one very interesting elementary teacher Jason who seemed to break the ice with everybody with stories of deep frying and bacon flavored tooth paste. Not long after all the rest of the Argos began to arrive, we were on our way to the hotel where we rushed to check in and get on our way to Mystic Aquarium. We got a small orientation from Eleanor and Katie and then ate dinner in the aquarium. We all laughed and bonded over stories about ourselves.

During dinner, Katie, and Tibi our Romanian Argonaut, and I were listened to a looping set of music from a kiosk. We laughed as we listened to it at least a dozen times. Before we left we were able to get a sneak peek of tomorrow’s adventure at Mystic Aquarium. We checked out some deep sea crabs and footage from Greg Marshal's Critter Cams. Once we finished, we went back to the hotel and had some down time and I was able to talk to Tibi and Darryl. Soon after we met back up with the others in the conference room for our full orientation where we got our Argo gear and did team building exercises. We locked our arms in a knot and untangling them into a circle without letting go which we did in remarkable time even if we seemed to have switched a partner or two, because we ended up with two circles! But like Peter said, being an Argonaut is about thinking outside of the box. In the end today was a great first day meeting the others and starting on our journey to become Argonauts.


Student Argo Devyn Jackson’s Day

I woke up this morning, eager to start training for our upcoming mission in the fall. My first flight landed in Atlanta and after a short stay there, my next flight landed in Providence. I was greeted by a man with a huge smile on his face. The man with the huge smile was Mr. Peter, one of the head trainers. He took Lucinda, TaShawn and me to the airport restaurant, where we met Whitney, Jason and Katie. We started out with a little talk here and there as other Argonauts joined, and we morphed into a bigger group with non-stop laughter. From then on, it felt like we had known each other for more than a few hours. Funny memories will definitely be remembered from our lunch conversation.

I felt that the lunch at the airport was a beginning to a group of people joining as friends. At first I didn’t know if I was going to act shy and not speak, or be myself. The Argonaut teachers began to make me feel welcome. Especially asking me if I wanted to order food, starting to eat we began to start on different topics. I talked about my personal hobbies and interests to them after that point. This allowed me to let my personality show through. By doing this the other Argonauts that joined us there felt even more open to join and share themselves. Overall, I’m comfortable with who I am surrounded with.

After long hours waiting for our last Argonaut, Tibi to arrive, we headed to Mystic Aquarium to have dinner. There we had deep discussions with our table and expressed a few things about ourselves to the other Argonauts. With a little extra time, we got a sneak peak of the exhibits. We saw some interesting facts about penguins and the Critter Cams; the cameras that they attach to the penguins, to see where they travel and exactly what they do. Another interesting exhibit we saw was about the ship that Dr. Ballard discovered in the Black Sea.

After dinner, we arrived at the hotel and checked in. We all met in the conference room to talk about the introduction of the trip. Everything was explained up front, including expectations for the rest of the trip. Overall the first day, already has me interested for the upcoming days of my expedition.


Teacher Argo Jason Pittman's Day - An educator's perspective

Today was our first day with the JASON project and already everyone is incredibly excited. We spent today gathering our team and greeting one another, and already we're having a ton of fun. I was in the first group of Argos to arrive, followed by Lucinda, Devyn and Tashawn and Chemutai. Everyone was quick to break the ice with jokes and fun as we ate lunch. Darryl, Erin, Jacob, Hilary, Romeo and finally Tiberiu arrived after lunch, and the group began to bond. I am very impressed by and excited to work with this group of students. Everyone seems to be not only incredibly talented and smart, but ready for adventure and fun. My kind of people! (And the type of students that every teacher loves to work with!)

Once our Argonaut team was fully assembled, we headed out to Mystic Aquarium for dinner and an after hours look at one of the nation's leading aquariums, and the research headquarters of Dr. Bob Ballard. We were both excited and honored as Eleanor Smalley greeted us and gave us the history of this inspiring aquarium. We ate dinner in the exhibit hall, and were lucky enough to be seated right in the middle of the Critter Cam exhibit. Not only was this a fascinating look at the lives of animals though the eyes of animals, but I was also excited to see my friend Greg Marshall, inventor of Critter cam! Hi, Greg!

After dinner we arrived at the hotel for our inauguration as Argonaut candidates. The students and I were honored and excited at the potential of counting ourselves among "The Argonauts" that we have followed online and in our classroom curriculum. This group of students will certainly teach me as much about inquiry science, as I hope to teach them. I can't wait for the adventure to begin!