Learning marine life

By Staff
Melissa Cason
Science students at Russellville High School were introduced to the world of marine science yesterday as a guest from the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Mobile talked about different marine life.
"This is our introduction to marine life," RHS science teacher Lorraine Cummings said.
Dauphin Island Sea Lab Discovery Hall Educator Carrie Dixon presented the class with different sea creatures and information about each specimen.
Dixon's visit came after Cummings and fellow teacher Suzette Posey took part in the Marine Application of Science and Technology program at Dauphin Island last summer.
As part of the program, the pair learned how to use Global Positioning System technology and marine science into the school's biology curriculums.
"The purpose of my visit is to follow up on the MAST workshop you were involved with last summer," Dixon said. "I will be bringing a MAST related program and spending the entire teaching day with classes."
Dixon brought a touch lab in which preserved specimens featuring sharks, crabs and fish were presented for students to touch and examine closely.
"Our objective was to emphasize the role of GPS technology in marine biology research in the Gulf of Mexico," Dixon said.
Cummings said in addition to the MAST program, the RHS science department is participating in the Signals of Spring program, which gives teachers and students a unique opportunity to track live marine organisms in real time.
"We received a grant to use the Signals of Spring program in our Zoology classes here," Cummings said. "We will also be participating in a study conducted by Stanford University relating to the Signals of Spring program."
Dixon will continue marine science presentations at RHS today.