Teacher Ships Out this summer. Did you see the story from the OA News about Ruth Meadows. Opelika Middle School teacher Ruth Meadows is doing what many do during the summer vacation — going to the ocean. But instead of beach chairs and sand castles, Meadows will be on the 220-foot ocean vessel, the Henry B. Bigelow, collecting ocean specimens in the Mid-Atlantic. That’s because Meadows was chosen as one of 26 teachers in the country to take part in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Teacher at Sea program. Read More about her trip here!

NOAA Ship HENRY B. BIGELOW was launched at VT Halter Marine, in Pascagoula, Mississippi on July 8, 2005. HENRY B. BIGELOW is the second of four new fisheries survey ships built by NOAA. The ship is one of the most technologically advanced fisheries survey vessels in the world. HENRY B. BIGELOW supports NOAA’s mission to protect, restore and manage the use of living marine, coastal, and ocean resources through ecosystem-based management. Its primary objective is to study and monitor Northeast Marine Fisheries, throughout New England. The ship also observes weather, sea state, and other environmental conditions, conducts habitat assessments, and surveys marine mammal and marine bird populations.

(Original Story by Brittany Whitley, OA News Staff Writer, Published: June 4, 2009)