The Gulf of
Mexico Foundation is a key partner in a project called
Cyberways and Waterways, conceived and developed by
4empowerment – a for-profit organization dedicated
to the environment and education.
Using exciting new computer technology, the program focuses on conservation of
area streams, rivers, coastlines, and oceans.
In 2009, the program enters a ninth year of encouraging students, teachers,
and the community to protect and improve their environment.
Through online and field-study learning programs, Cyberways
and Waterways® offers students an opportunity to study
and electronically visualize Texas watersheds from as
close as their own school grounds to as far a field as
an artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico.
Since 2000, the Gulf of Mexico Foundation has taken a
leading role in an interactive underwater video Cyberways and
Waterways® project called
Rivers to the Ocean Webcast.
During the live webcast, thousands of Texas children
are able to watch from their school desks as Gulf of
Mexico Foundation executive director,
Dr. Quenton Dokken,
gives a "live feed" report from 77 feet below the surface of the gulf while scuba diving below an oil platform.
Not only are the students able to watch live images on a computer screen, but they can hear Dr. Dokken's voice as he speaks via an
underwater communications system. Students send in questions which a technician on the oil platform
relays to the diver, who in turn answers them.
Supported by a grant from the
Texas Education Agency, this project is done in cooperation with
BP and
Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Through participation in Cyberways and Waterways®, students develop real-world skills such as analyzing
data, creating graphical presentations, and interpreting scientific terms and ideas. More than
50,000 students, parents, and teachers in 44 schools use the program's curriculum, bilingual website,
and resource material.
Gulf of Mexico Foundation - PMB 51, 5403 Everhart - Corpus Christi, TX 78411
(800) 884-4175 toll free - (361) 882-3939 phone - (361) 882-1262 fax
e-mail: info@gulfmex.org
website: gulfmex.org
webmaster: Carrie Robertson
