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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend June 5, 2005 Lesson in the tides Crater High School students embark on a journey into the unknown by sending messages through the sea By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune The bottled-up messages tossed off the coast of Reedsport may not have been hidden clues to pirate treasure, but the Crater High School students who sent them say they are richer for the experience. Science teacher Mary Goff came up with the idea to help her students learn energy and ocean currents this spring. After stuffing messages into the cork- sealed bottles, they predicted where the bottles might wind up based on a variety of scientific information. Considering — perhaps hoping — the bottles could be found in non-English-speaking countries, students even translated messages in a slew of foreign languages. Goff drove the bottles to Reedsport and persuaded "a sympathetic charter captain," Rich Oba of Pacific Pioneer Charters, to release the two dozen bottles several miles off shore. "Obviously if you just take them out to the beach and throw them out, they’ll come right back," said Goff, hardly a way to collect accurate scientific data. Advertisement Since the March 15 launch, six bottles have been found along the beaches of Tillamook County, 100 miles north of where they were sent out. As bottles washed ashore, so did stories from the beachcombers who found them. Wives wrote students joking of husbands who reverted back to childhood expecting long-lost, faded treasure maps; families told of fourth-graders who took their unexpected finds to "show-and-tell" at school; still others said they re-launched the bottles with new paper "treasures" inside. On a more scientific note, the handful of bottles found so far determined that the winter Davidson Current was still present in March. Normally it breaks down earlier in the spring. Reclaimed bottles traveled distances of between 52 to 156 miles. Three of the six returned bottles were found the same day around the Oceanside/Cannon Beach area. Those not yet returned could still be surfing across ocean waves. Ninth-grader Ethan Wilder, whose bottle was found near Cannon Beach by an Idaho family visiting Oregon for spring break, said he learned that tide patterns vary from season to season and that not all bottled-up messages sail the ocean blue for decades. While he was excited for his bottle to be found, he said he and the other two students who filled his bottle "thought it might circle around to even China." "It didn’t, but it went really far north of here," he said. "We thought at least it would take a year but evidently it didn’t � so much for the theory they float around 100 years, but now since that happened, I think it could be found anywhere and anytime. Maybe some of the others will be." Goff said the project succeeded in its ultimate goal � inspiring students to think outside the box. "I was looking for innovative ways to connect my science students with the real world," said the teacher. "And the letters we’ve received back have been so affirming for the kids." Crater teacher heads to sea Crater High School teacher Mary Goff has been selected as one of four teachers nationwide to be part of the 2004-05 Research and "Education: Volcanoes, Exploration and Life Project." Developed by University of Washington marine geologist Dr. Veronique Robigou in 1996, the project takes teachers on a three-week oceanographic research expedition off the coasts of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia that they share with students back home via live Web casts and e-mail. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show kids what real science looks like as it unfolds," said Goff. "The area we’ll be exploring is known for its active plate movement, hydrothermal vents and the exotic life forms that are able to flourish without sunlight. "Kids learn about science from textbooks and lab experiments, but to actually have kids learn firsthand as scientists are actually making the discoveries. ... I’m really excited to be a part of that." Middle and high school teachers interested in tapping into Goff’s live supply of information during the expedition are encouraged to e-mail Goff at [email protected] Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford.E-mail her at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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