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Show Immerses Students In The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Dawn Hayes prepares for live shot in the show Immersion Presents Monterey Bay.
Dawn Hayes prepares for live shot in the show Immersion Presents Monterey Bay.

By Krista Almanzan

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kazu/local-kazu-683664.mp3

Monterey – All week long the Research Vessel Fulmar has set out in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary with a crew of photographers, audio engineers and scientists. The crew is part of a show called Immersion Presents Monterey Bay, a 30-minute internet program that is streaming live into schools and Boys & Girls Clubs across the nation.

The shows are a partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Immersion Presents, an education program started in part by Dr. Robert Ballard who discovered the Titanic. Dawn Hayes of NOAA co-hosts the shows with Ballard who does the shows live from Rhode Island. "The more that people know about the ocean and can form a connection to the ocean the more important they realize it is to protect it," said Hayes.

During the shows the students travel deep into the Monterey Bay with scuba divers and a remotely operated vehicle. They learn about marine life and how every person affects the ocean. If this program succeeds, Hayes says they hope to do it annually until they cover all of 13 National Marine Sanctuaries.