Chief Scientist Dr. Craig Cary Univ. of Delaware

Welcome aboard! Extreme 2008: A Deep-Sea Adventure" is designed to engage students and the public in science by involving them--in a virtual way--in a National Science Foundation expedition to explore one of the most extreme environments on the planet: hydrothermal vents.

Our international research team includes scientists and graduate students from the University of Delaware, University of Southern California, J. Craig Venter Institute, University of Colorado, University of North Carolina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and the University of Waikato, New Zealand.

More than 350 middle- and high-school classrooms around the globe -- representing over 20,000 students -- are participating in Extreme 2008. Click on each state or country button on our map to access a list of participating schools.

Each day of our 21-day expedition from Nov. 10-30, 2008, news, video, and photos of the scientists' discoveries will be relayed from sea to shore via this interactive Web site. Standards-based curricula, study guides, and other resource materials are all available to registered classrooms.

Among this year's "Extreme Activities," students can "Write the Scientists," design an "Extreme Experiment," and submit their work to the "Virtual Science Fair." Fifty classrooms also will participate in "The Phone Call to the Deep," a live conference call with the scientists as they work in the submersible Alvin at the vents.

Extreme 2008 is presented by the University of Delaware, with primary support from the National Science Foundation. Additional support has been provided by Olympus and MO BIO Laboratories. The program is coordinated by the University of Delaware Office of Communications & Marketing.

EXTREME ACTIVITIES