Erie, Pa. -- Penn State Erie is offering an educational program through the Pennsylvania Sea Grant designed to help students learn about Lake Erie's maritime history while promoting math and science skills and environmental awareness.
Project S.T.E.A.R. is an educational program developed as part of the Pennsylvania Lake Erie Underwater Preserve project, which has a mission is to identify, interpret and protect underwater cultural resources in the Great Lakes.
S.T.E.A.R. stands for Shipwreck Training Education Archaeology Research, and it is the educational component of the Underwater Preserve project. S.T.E.A.R. consists of curricula and hands-on learning opportunities designed specifically to promote math and science skills, environmental awareness and stewardship, and to motivate and inspire youth through real scientific exploration. The project also will conduct underwater experiments and environmental monitoring and research to help stabilize many fragile shipwrecks.
"We've been able to develop a wonderful curricular resource for teachers," said
Anne Danielski, coastal education and maritime specialist for Pennsylvania Sea Grant, which is located at Penn State Erie. "Online at Sea Grant's educational site -- http://www.pserie.psu.edu/seagrant/education/stear/projectstear.html -- there's an interactive computer program that helps students learn about Lake Erie's maritime history. Students can go on a self-directed adventure using the research and ship's log to play the role of a 19th-century sailor on a high seas adventure or an underwater archaeologist on Lake Erie."
Other lesson plans on the Web site cover diving, weather, lost ships, sailing skills and shipwreck research.
The project is a cooperative effort of the Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies, Mercyhurst College, Pennsylvania Sea Grant, Divers' World, Lakeshore Towing and Texas A&M Institute of Nautical Archaeology.
"The Lake Erie Underwater preserve project, working through its collaborators, has established a U.S. Coast Guard-approved mooring system on six popular shipwreck sites near Erie, preserving the wrecks for future divers to explore," said Danielski. "We've had help from teachers in developing Project S.T.E.A.R., and it's turned out to be a popular program for school-aged children."
For more information about implementing Project S.T.E.A.R. in a classroom, call Danielski at (814) 898-6420 or e-mail add118@psu.edu.