Not only were Our Sisters’ School sixth- and seventh-graders able to communicate with local fishermen, they also joined them on the ocean doing research with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientists.
In turn, Our Sisters’ School welcomed the scientists to New Bedford to share their space in the New Bedford Whaling Museum with the opportunity to have an impact in both the scientific and artistic realm.
Part of a two-year partnership between Our Sisters’ School, WHOI, and the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, in collaboration with artist Jill Pelto, their project explores how changing ocean conditions are impacting fish habitats and local fisheries.
The relationship between the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and Our Sisters’ School started about three years ago when local artist Deb Ehrens created a piece of artwork and showcased it to the students.
As part of this recent collaboration, students visited the WHOI campus in Woods Hole to learn about oceanographic research and data analysis. They also visited CCCFA in Chatham for hands-on activities to learn about sustainable fisheries, tank experiments, and the instruments and fishermen on the Chatham pier.
The concept of merging art and data science was then introduced by Jill Pelto, artist and science communicator who creates data-driven artwork that integrates real climate and conservation data to illustrate human-environment connections and make scientific information engaging and accessible, who conducted a Zoom lesson in the fall.
A rewarding, hands-on learning experience The partnership, which was funded by WHOI Sea Grant, provided OSS students a hands-on learning experience where students were able to create some pretty powerful artwork and conduct some great scientific research together, according to OSS Advancement Director Katie Soares.
Everyone in the school got to see what WHOI scientists do, and in May their science team took sixth and seventh graders to Chatham.
The WHOI scientists work off a pier in collaboration with fishermen who take conductivity and pressure devices with them to collect scientific data.
