Welcome to the Ocean Inquiry Project

The Ocean Inquiry Project (OIP) is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to educate students, teachers and community members through scientific inquiry on Puget Sound. OIP began as a way for several of us to get our Oceanography 101 classes out onto Puget Sound for some hands-on experience. We first took students out during summer quarter of 1999 and have continued each quarter since then.

Our oceanographic activities and locations are driven by the science requirements of partners such as the Washington State Department of Ecology , Puget Sound Marine Environmental Modelling and the University of Washington's PRISM project. Both of these groups have long-term monitoring stations throughout Puget Sound. We have visited several of them in the Seattle and Tacoma areas. OIP participants become scientific partners by collecting research quality data and contributing to long-term databases. When this type of field experience is combined with inquiry style curriculum, students gain a much better appreciation for what science is and how it is done.

Highlights

• Come join us out on the Sound! Experience being a research oceanographer and meet some plankton.
• We have a new Program Director. Welcome Amy Sprenger as the newest OIP staff member!
• OIP's first refereed scientific publication will appear in the next issue of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching. This paper describes a study in which we compared learning using a 3D Virtual Reality model of Puget Sound with learning on an OIP cruise. You can find a copy of it here.
• Coordinating Marine Science in Puget Sound Workshop, 2004
• Pictures of OIP in action!