Shedd Aquarium’s High School Marine Biology (HSMB) Program is designed for the student who wants to explore marine science as a possible career. Students are introduced to marine biology and the scientific method in a classroom setting at Shedd Aquarium and then apply this knowledge by conducting research in the Bimini Islands, Bahamas on Shedd's live-aboard vessel, the R/V Coral Reef II.

Shedd Aquarium has offered its High School Marine Biology Program for more than thirty years. For the first time this year, through its partnership with Wilderness Classroom, students, teachers, parents and friends will be able to learn right along with HSMB participants via postings, podcasts, blogs, photos, videos, informational resources and even direct communication on the web. This unique opportunity will allow you to share the HSMB experience with us from your own home or classroom.

While aboard the R/V Coral Reef II students will:

• Explore the features of the Bahamian marine environments with Shedd Aquarium staff and scientists

• Conduct daily marine science experiments, investigations and onshore field studies

• Be actively involved in shipboard life

• Study the culture and current events of the Bahamas

• Participate in teambuilding activities that foster personal growth

• Have fun and make lifelong friends and memories

Through HSMB, scientific inquiry is made real in a way no textbook can begin to match. Students conduct scientific research, and in some cases contribute their data to ongoing studies, on such topics, such as, comparative fish diversity/abundance, intertidal zonation, marine debris, plankton diversity and abundance, and vegetation and invasive plant surveys, exploring the amazing reefs, sea grass beds, mangroves and wrecks of Bimini along the way.

We hope you can join our team of high school scientists online July 5th through July 19th for live updates from Bahamas.

Last Updated: March 28, 2008