school of rock 2010

The JR is big. The derrick, pictured above, stands 62 meters tall -- the equivalent of about 20 stories. She's 143 meters long.  That's about one and a half football fields. The lab section is seven stories. But The JR isn't just physically big.  The JR is a big deal.

We had an abandon ship drill this morning to find our muster stations, or lifeboats. We had to arrive at our muster stations with life jackets on. They were harder to put on than they look...or at least I made it more complicated. We also had to try on our survival suits just in case we have to abandon ships in these cold waters.

And we're off! Three small tugboats gave us a helping hand at 0400 today as we ventured off the dock in Victoria, British Columbia, and out to sea. We waved goodbye to a few spectators and set sail for a 10-day expedition filled with science, education, and of course FUN!

This is our third day onboard the JR. We are still at port, expecting to get underway sometime today. I've spent the last few days trying to find my way around the ship, and usually getting lost. We had lots of training sessions yesterday to be sure we know how to keep ourselves safe and how to not get in the way of the crew as they go about their daily routines.

We met for dinner in town tonight and had our first Science Cafe. This is a great idea where it allows different scientists to talk about different aspects of their research. Steve Hoven at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP).

In early April of 1778 Cook was navigating the HMS Resolution through the same strait we will be traveling through tomorrow as we depart for the CORK site.  In addition to mapping the outlets while in pursuit of the Northwest Passage, Cook was also seeking timber to create a new mizzenmast and

I feel incredibly lucky to be a participant in the School of Rock this year.  For the next two weeks, my School of Rock comrades and I will be working alongside scientists exploring cores and developing educational resources.

Second day on the ship and I have already learned new terms that relate to the ship and what will happen once we set sail tomorrow at 16:00 ship time.

 This is the site in Victoria, British Columbia, where in just a couple of hours the scientsits, educators, and crew of Expedition 327 will depart the ship after their 2 month adventure at sea. Though it is the ending of their expedition, much of the work they did out at sea is really just the beginning of a diversity of science explorations that will follow.