We’ll Soon Be Hitting the Road…BayMobile
BayMobile, the travelling marine science classroom of the Discovery Hall Programs (DHP), is making excellent progress. Adorned with colorful images of sea life, courtesy of Robert Dixon and Kyle Weis, the

Dr. George Crozier (l) and Dr. John Dindo (r) before BayMobile's first trial run.

vehicle will be ready to visit classrooms throughout the state in Spring 2002. DHP educators are working on a variety of curricula from which teachers can choose for their class presentations.

The oceans will wash into the classrooms, bringing enthusiasm and knowledge about the watershed, the animals and plants that live among us, and human impact on the environment.

Dr. John Dindo recently brought the BayMobile truck to the Alabama School for the Deaf and Blind in Talladega, a homecoming of sorts to the idea of a hands-on exhibit. Twenty years ago, Dr. Dindo first started working with visually-impaired students in the Tuscaloosa School District. Seeing the impact of touch in learning, he soon made his first visit to School for the Deaf and Blind in Talladega.
 

Dr. Dindo, center, at the Alabama School for the Deaf and Blind.

 

 

 "It was an incredible experience for me as an educator," mused Dr. Dindo recently. "These kids lived so far away from the ocean, and maybe they’d never have the chance to see the beaches. But through the sense of touch, they could examine sea creatures and plants in a way that really brought the oceans to their fingertips. In a way, that experience twenty years ago was the impetus for this incredible BayMobile program we are starting now."
 
BayMobile is made possible by a grant from ExxonMobil and the Alabama Power Foundation.

For more information on scheduling BayMobile, contact Denise Keaton at dkeaton@disl.org.