Newly Established Jason Foundation Spurs Schoolchildren To Study Science

Last year, deep-sea researcher Robert Ballard attracted media attention with his inauguration of the Jason Project, an expedition to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea that was telecast live to museums throughout North America. Assembled at these viewing posts were approximately 250,000 elementary- and secondary-school students, who were able to communicate via a satellite hookup with researchers on the expedition. The project, an unprecedented endeavor, was named after the underwater robot used on the mission, which in turn was named for Jason, the mythological Greek explorer (The Scientist, May 15, 1989, page 1). This year, Ballard has established a new philanthropic organization, the Jason Foundation for Education, to support Jason's expeditions in 1990 and beyond. In addition to its exploratory purpose, the Jason Project aims to get more young people interested in science careers by showing them that scientific pursuits are exciting. "It takes 10 or more years [of study after high school] to create a scientist or an engineer," says Ballard, a senior scientist in the Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering and director of the Center for Marine Exploration at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass. Today in the United States, he says, "we can look down the pipeline and see these people not coming," because not enough youngsters are getting the message that science is a worthwhile undertaking. The foundation, based in Washington, D.C., with a project office in Woods Hole, coordinates the Jason Project's educational program in consultation with scientists and educators, oversees the dissemination of the programming through the museum network, and sponsors research on "telepresence" - live transmission via satellite and a two-way hookup, or "the act of being there, remotely," as Ballard calls it. "Last year, [the project] was somewhat of an experiment," Ballard says. Bolstered by the success of that mission, the explorer explains, he established the foundation "to provide a central organization" that could coordinate the project "on less of an ad hoc basis." Additionally, Ballard says he hopes the new philanthropy "will help in the fund-raising aspect," providing "a foundation where people can send contributions." Jason has just completed its 1990 mission - to Canada's Lake Ontario to explore the sunken 1812 warships Hamilton and Scourge - which took place from April 30 to May 12. Students in grades 4 through 10 viewed Jason's activities via satellite links to museums and research institutions - the project's "downlink sites." These institutions were located in Boston; Chicago; Dallas; Detroit; Minneapolis; Don Mills, Ontario; Memphis; Rochester, N.Y.; Salt Lake City; Sarasota, Fla.; Washington, D.C.; Victoria, British Columbia; Bethlehem, Pa.; and Woods Hole. p Students who participated in the project studied a special unit based on the mission that encompassed aspects of limnology, ecology, geology, biology, physics, robotics, satellite communications, and sonar exploration. Sixty of these young participants at the remote locations were able to actually operate Jason via satellite; in addition, 40 students went along with Ballard on the expedition. "We've had absolutely no trouble signing up teachers and students to the program," Ballard says. "We booked the downlink sites in two weeks." Providing the majority of support for the Jason Project are eight Jason Foundation partners: the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a private, nonprofit research facility; Electronic Data Systems Corp., a Dallas-based information management firm that is the largest contributor to the project, providing the communications technology; the National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., which produced a one-hour television show on the expedition; the Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting System, creator of the programming for the project; the Marquest Group, of Bourne, Mass., which produces underwater imaging systems and provided logistical and engineering support for the project; the National Science Foundation; the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA); and the network of museums that provided the settings for the Jason Project's live broadcasts. This unique partnership of private industry, scientific research facilities, museums, and educational organizations brings together "the most dissimilar group of people on the planet," says Ballard with a chuckle. But, he adds, "it's challenging and exciting to bring dissimilar groups together, to make them not only talk to one another, but to work on a common thing." The partners were especially motivated to join in the effort, Ballard says, because they felt a need to do something to boost the U.S.' poor international ranking in science literacy. In a situation such as this, which many perceive as a crisis, the explorer says, "people will rally around the flag - it's amazing what the country will do." The annual budget for the Jason Project is about $4 million, Ballard says, plus "$1 million to $2 million of in-kind volunteer labor." Almost $1 million of the total budget is contributed by the 14 downlink sites, which each pay $65,000 for the programming. Another $1 million is donated by the corporate partners. The balance comes from fund raising, done primarily by members of the project's board. Less than $200,000 of the funding for the project is given by the U.S. government, Ballard says: "The only federal money going into the program is money going to NSTA to develop the curriculum." To help garner more support for the project, Ballard and other board members spent the early spring attending fund-raising dinners in New York, Boston, Minneapolis, and Dallas, among other locations. "The goal is to do this around the U.S. and Canada," he says. The target of the Jason Foundation's appeal is "primarily corporate America," Ballard says - "people who have a vested interest in the education of future scientists and engineers." The Jason Foundation's partners are hoping that the project will grow in the years to come, adding around five interactive downlink sites per year so that the cost to each site drops. Eventually, Ballard says, "we hope to double the interactive sites - from 15 to 30." Another projected area of expansion is the addition of noninteractive secondary sites, from which students could watch the satellite broadcast but would not be able to operate Jason. The Jason Foundation is hoping to add two more corporations to its partnership "to round it off" from eight partners to 10, Ballard says. Also targeted for growth is the foundation staff, which currently consists of only one full-time person. "A search is under way for a director of the foundation," says Ballard, adding that he has been engaged in a series of meetings "to decide what that role should be." Plans for future expedition sites are now in progress, Ballard notes. His research staff is preparing reports on five proposed locations for 1992, focusing on "the scientific thrust and the technological thrust" of an expedition to each site. The list will be submitted to the network of partners, who will make their selection by vote. Formalization of the site-selection process "is part of getting more organized" as the foundation comes to fruition, Ballard says. The students who had the opportunity to go along with Ballard on the mission were selected by administrators at the downlink sites, the explorer says. "Each had its own criteria; I myself did not participate" in the selection process, he says. The downlink sites were encouraged to hold science fairs, with the prize being a chance to go on the mission, "so they create a local hero who's a hero because he won a science fair, not because he played in a basketball game," Ballard says. The project will benefit scientists, as well, he says: "We're sending all the data from the expedition through the satellite back to the lab" to be studied by Woods Hole researchers. After all, he notes, the Jason underwater exploration system was developed "not for kids, but for scientists." The idea of adapting the technology to use in teaching children "is Darwinian," the explorer says - "to take the offspring and see if it thrives in new circumstances. "We are looking at this as an experimental approach to education" - an alternative to the traditional attempts at getting youngsters interested in science careers. Such novel tactics, Ballard says, should be part of the normal routine of a scientist. "Experimental scientists are supposed to look at other approaches. They're not supposed to take anything as sacred." For more information on the Jason project, contact the Jason Foundation for Education at 1600 M St., N.W., Fourth Floor, Washington, D.C. 20036; (202) 429-5700.

Newly Established Jason Foundation Spurs Schoolchildren To Study Science

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of