The Saturday-at-the-Sea Summer Camp program (SATS Camp)
is a week-long experience in marine science offered by invitation only to
local students entering the 9th and 10th grades. During the SATS Camp, participants
make their own original observations and from them develop a research project
to explore these observations and the questions that they spark. During
the week, the participants will collect, analyze, and interpret the data
from their research project and write and present orally a paper that outlines
the conclusions that they draw from the data. They also design and carry
out a service project that benefits the marine environment in some way.
The SATS Camp program is not all work, though. There is plenty of time for
snorkeling in the lush seagrass beds, playing volleyball, taking field trips
to high-energy barrier island habitats (i.e., going to the beach!), making
camp t-shirts, and even an overnight stay at the FSU
Marine Laboratory with a chance to go night trawling from the pontoon
boats. Participants have a great time and get a real sense of what field
research is like.
A special goal of the SATS Camp program is to encourage positive, science-related
experiences among groups that are traditionally underrepresented in environmental
science careers (women and ethnic minorities), but we do not restrict participation
in the camp to these groups only. We hope that the SATS Camp experience
will encourage them to choose further instruction and, eventually, careers
in science as well as raise the environmental consciousness of participants
as they learn more about the use of coastal marine resources.
Take a tour of the Saturday-at-the-Sea Summer Camp