TITLE: Shipboard Education Coordinator
ACADEMIC INSTITUTION: None

 

What is your role in Extreme 2008?  
I’m the person who’s coordinating all the daily content -- the words, pictures, video, experiments, phone calls -- that people are reading and interacting with on the internet.  I also put together the curriculum and helped plan the Virtual Science Fair.

Are you involved in the science on the ship?
I’m not a scientist.  I work as a writer, teacher, and artist. My job during Extreme 2008 is to show people back on the “beach” what people out here on Atlantis and inside Alvin are doing.  I have to try to get to know each scientist and what he or she is working on, introduce all the ship’s crew and the Alvin group, and try to tell their stories.  I want to give the full picture – including video! And I want to show how it feels to be here – fears, woes, confusion, laughs, and especially the wonder and beauty.

But if you’re not a scientist, how can you explain? 
One of my jobs is science journalist. This is a person who reports and writes about science, especially news about science.  And at the East Pacific Rise and Guaymas Basin there is plenty of news! Before the trip, I do a lot of homework, talking to the scientists (I edited all their biography interviews), reading about their work, and learning about the hydrothermal vents.  During the trip, I plan to ask a lot of questions in order to get the understanding I need to write about the work for the web site.

Besides driving scientists crazy, what will you be doing during the cruise?
I’ll be running around the decks taking pictures and video of everything.  Once a day a new video clip and photographs will go up on the Web site under DAILY DISCOVERIES.  Also once a day, I’ll file a journal where I’ll talk about the news of the ship: where we are, what people are doing, how we’re feeling about it.  I’ll try to make readers feel as though they, too, are there on the ship. 

Have you been to sea before?
I’ve been on one-day tours on whale watch boats and research vessels near the coast, and once I got a personal tour of New York harbor in a tugboat. But my biggest adventure so far was Extreme 2004, when I shared this job with Michael League accompanying a team of scientists and crew to 9 North and 13 North on the East Pacific Rise. I’m going to miss Mike.  We were a good team and it was great to have a partner in crime.  

What would be your advice to first-time sailors?  
Try to be prepared for seasickness.  In 2004, my roommate, scientist Barbara Campbell, gave me good advice on when to take seasickness medicine -- before leaving the port! By the time we were far out at sea, I was used to the motion of the waves. Craig Cary taught me that eating little oyster crackers helped, too, during the transit from 9 to 13 North. That was the only time I was a little worried about tossing my cookies, but thanks to Craig, I never did.  And by the time I got home I was landsick, because it was so strange for the world not to be moving!

There’s something much more important than seasickness, though: the adventure!  During Extreme 2004, I noticed that many seasoned sailors (including crew and scientists) got up to watch the sunrise and went out after dinner to watch the sunset. I’m going to be one of those people every day on this cruise.  Being able to watch these events without buildings or hills or trees in the way is an incredible experience -- and at sunset sometimes we could see the “green flash” that comes just as the sun crosses the horizon. It’s important not to miss it! I also plan to spend some time sitting in the bow watching flying fish catch the waves, or coming out at night in the pitch dark to look at the stars.  We travel so near the equator that we can see some of the southern constellations, like the Southern Cross.  I want to soak up the beauty and excitement of being on a ship at sea, and to send all I can back to shore.   

What’s your job back on the beach?
I’m the author of more than twenty books for kids, including science books, novels, and a graphic novel. Some of my books include my own illustrations.  Besides this, I have worked as an editor and ocean science teacher, working for an aquarium in Connecticut.  I teach and mentor young writers and frequently visit schools to talk about my experiences at sea and with books.