Run through your list of archaeology
observations one more time. Make sure
that you have as much information on
each wreck as possible.
My name is John Caplis. We're at Alpena
High School. Shipwreck Alley is a class
that was designed to cover all aspects
of marine sanctuary operations. So what
makes Shipwreck Alley exciting is that
I can create some pretty powerful
learning opportunities for the students.
The class is really built around earth
science. This is an earth science classroom.
Shipwrecks run aground so we can talk
about some of the unique geology. Then we
move on to meteorology. Storms. Fog. Wind. Waves.
They all cause shipwrecks.
Imagine yourselves out on the Great Lakes in November.
We talk about resources natural resources
in the region and we do some archaeology
which really opens up opportunities to
work with the sanctuary and in the end
we tie it all back into lake ecology and
how the lakes are changing and how we
keep the ecosystem thriving.
We're looking for propulsion type right so if
you want to identify the ship we have to
figure out if there's any machinery that
indicates a sailing vessel or a steamer...
I couldn't wait to connect the sanctuary
with my students because I knew they
could create opportunities for my
students that I couldn't do alone.
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is
like a museum under the sea.
Everything we do that's really cool in this class
has marine sanctuary hands on it. They
feed us a lot of the the real world
information that brings that learning
alive and they create the field work
opportunities or they help me find field
work opportunities.
Check out one more wreck? We have time for one more?
This particular class, Shipwreck Alley, doesn't exist anywhere else in the world.
We started with a pilot program of 30.
One class, 30 students. The next year we went
to three classes, about 90 students and
then we went over 200 students the third
year of the program.
The idea that we're exposing two-thirds of every kid who
graduates from Alpena High School to
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
and its mission and the positive effect
it has on the community I think that's a
powerful thing.
I love the fact that I get to partner
with the sanctuary. Every person on that
staff is positive and has a can-do attitude.
Things get done around there.
It's been an amazing thing for our community.