NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jo Slavitz
Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson
July 19 – August 10, 2026
Mission: Summer Pollock Acoustic Survey, Leg 3
Geographic Area of Cruise: Bering Sea, Alaska
Date: Aug 15, 2026
Weather Data from Dover Middle School – Dover, NH
Latitude: 43° 11′ 46.9” N
Longitude: 70° 52′ 46.2” W
Winds: NW at 4 mph
Air Temperature: 78° F (25.6° C)
“Inside every good scientist is a curious kid. ” — Ms. Frizzle
Personal Log
I am home. The floors have stopped swaying, my seabag is unpacked and the fish scales are washed from my boots. I have had time to rest and reflect. Looking over my endless photographs of indescribable landscapes, fascinating animal life and the hardworking but always enthusiastic crew, it would be easy to be wistful, sad that the journey all went by in the blink of an eye. But the thing is, it’s not over. The journey was never just about me, I was assigned this adventure to be the eyes and ears of my students.
I love the Magic School Bus series. For some, it’s unclear whether Ms. Fizzle’s class actually goes to all those incredible places or if their trips have only been imagined. But I know Ms. Frizzle’s secret, she is an extraordinary teacher. Her lessons are so engaging, so powerful, that her class feels transported to those unbelievable locations making lessons real, relatable and meaningful. And that is NOAA’s charge for their Teachers At Sea.
The NOAA Teacher at Sea program provides the adventures, we the teachers, go home to take our students back to these magical places and exciting experiences. It’s no small task, but one I take on with great seriousness and excitement. I want my students to feel the wind and fog blowing in across Dutch Harbor. I want them to puzzle over colorful echograms searching for fish. I want them to measure, weigh and record pollock and jellyfish splashed across the culling board. I want them to envision themselves as NOAA officers, or engineers, or scientists. But most of all, I want them to care deeply about the health and well-being of the world’s oceans. So I am frantically writing lessons, building hands-on activities and creating project based STEM challenges in hope that my students will feel like they too have been to the Bering Sea on the Summer Pollock Acoustic Survey. May the Frizzle be with us.
