Final episode of ‘Classroom Under the Sea’ on Thursday

 

In their last “Classroom Under the Sea” episode before resurfacing, Roane State Community College professors Bruce Cantrell and Jessica Fain will reflect on their record-breaking 73-day underwater mission and discuss the future of ocean preservation.

The live program starts at 1 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, December 11. Viewers can watch at roanestate.edu/classroomunderthesea and on youtube.com/classroomunderthesea.

Cantrell and Fain have lived and worked in an underwater habitat—Jules’ Undersea Lodge on Key Largo in the Florida Keys—since October 3. While living in the habitat, they have hosted “Classroom Under the Sea,” an online lecture series presented by Roane State and the Marine Resources Development Foundation on Key Largo.

For the final episode, Cantrell and Fain will cover a range of topics with Chris Olstad, biologist and habitat operations director with the Marine Resources Development Foundation. Olstad has directed more than 500 scientific and educational missions involving over 1,000 aquanauts.

Viewers are invited to tweet questions to @ClassUnderSea or by using #ClassroomUndertheSea.

Recordings of each Classroom Under the Sea episode are available on youtube.com/classroomunderthesea.

All Classroom Under the Sea episodes have been made possible through the generous support of Diversity in Aquatics, the project’s official sponsor. To learn more about Diversity in Aquatics, please visit www.diversityinaquatics.com.

In addition to hosting the weekly programs, Cantrell has taught an online college-credit course—BIOL 2600: Living and Working Under the Sea—for Roane State students.

When they resurface December 15, Cantrell and Fain will set a world record for the longest time spent living underwater.

For more information about the Classroom Under the Sea, visit roanestate.edu/classroomunderthesea.

Located on Key Largo in the Florida Keys, the Marine Resources Development Foundation is a nonprofit organization with the goal of developing a better understanding of Earth’s marine resources. For more information, visit www.mrdf.org.

Jules’ Undersea Lodge was the undersea research habitat called “La Chalupa,” which Marine Resources Development Foundation operated from 1971-1976. Several missions were conducted in the habitat, including two at a depth of 100 feet. In 1986, the habitat started a new life as Jules’ Undersea Lodge, which is the only underwater hotel in the world and accessible to any recreational diver. Learn more at www.jul.com.