The Learning Barge

The Learning Barge (Print This)
04/29/2007
University of Virginia students are building an environmentally-friendly, floating classroom to provide a unique learning experience on a very polluted river.

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Randy Atkins: The Chesapeake’s Elizabeth River is damaged by years of local human activity. Phoebe Crisman, a University of Virginia professor, wants to show nearby kids the problems, and possible fixes.

Phoebe Crisman: The way they live their daily lives has an amazing impact on this whole ecosystem.

Randy Atkins: Crisman’s class is designing conservation exhibits on a wind and sun powered barge that will travel to river restoration sites.

Phoebe Crisman: It’s important not just to take kids out to some kind of pristine nature center, but also get them to understand the nature which is around them.

Randy Atkins: Her own students get to…

Phoebe Crisman: …take on an academic research project but then see positive social, environmental, even economic benefit generated by that.”

Randy Atkins: With the National Academy of Engineering, Randy Atkins, WTOP Radio.

The barge, which just won an Environmental Protection Agency Award, will open for classes in Fall 2008. To see it and find out more about this story, go to wtopnews.com keyword "Innovative Engineering" or <www.NAE.edu/radio>.

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