The Sun to Sea Science Camp provided an unforgettable adventure in STEM learning for Alaska middle-schoolers. The camp’s marine and atmospheric science activities included a four-day underwater acoustics component that combined boat trips to record whale vocalizations and a classroom presentation mixed with computer-aided exploration of underwater sound signals. The July 2009 camp was sponsored by the Juneau Economic Development Council’s SpringBoard in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Juneau School District, and the DoD’s National Defense Education Program (NDEP).

Navy acoustics experts Robert Drake and Alfred Garceau traveled to Alaska for the event with funding provided by NDEP’s K-12 STEM education program. They brought hand-held digital sound recorders, an in-water hydrophone

to listen to and record underwater sounds, and a laptop computer for hands-on analysis. Peter Ord, a dungeness crab fisherman and NOAA contractor, welcomed the campers and their mentors onboard his commercial fishing boat for two days of field work in Auke Bay and Stephens Passage. There, the students observed whales, sea lions, bald eagles, and other creatures in their northern habitats.

Drake wrote the customized software applications specifically for the Sun to Sea Camp but in such a way that they are "transportable" — that is, useable by Juneau teachers and students after the camp or adaptable for other STEM outreach events. In fact, says Drake, "The analysis application works equally well with in-air sounds such as music or speech."

Plans are underway to hold another Sun to Sea Camp during the summer of 2010, says Mary Hakala, Education Coordinator for SpringBoard’s K-16 STEM Initiative.