Everything from Algae to Zooplankton

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Young scientists sample the freshwater food chain through GM's Ride the Waves at Michigan Tech's Great Lakes Research Center. Whitefish bellies, lard-filled olives—and a boat ride on Michigan Tech's 36-foot Research Vessel Agassiz. Just the thing to hook elementary students on science, technology, engineering and math.
Funded by General Motors (GM) since 2013, Ride the Waves gets about 700 students per year out on local waters and into GLRC labs to work side-by-side with Michigan Tech students, staff and faculty. The goal: to better understand the freshwater environment and factors that affect it, from phytoplankton to mining waste.
Students board the R/V Agassiz in groups of 15, half remaining in the lab with Ride the Waves instructors—Michigan Tech students—to guide them through lab investigations, while the students aboard collect surface-to-bottom lake samples (every layer tells a story).






Unique location, unique program: Ride the Waves operates all summer at Michigan Tech�s Great Lakes Research Center.



Welcome Aboard: Safety First 
"This is a work vessel. My job is to keep everybody safe," explains R/V Agassiz Captain Stephen Roblee. Everyone less than 90 pounds gets a life jacket. No one argues, because he and Chief Scientist Brian Doughty are also wearing jackets—a rule for anyone working on the boat. 
Captain Roblee notes that anyone who is working at the side of the boat, taking samples later on, also has to don a personal floatation device—and shows everyone where they are. For now, though, the rule is simple: sit down, away from the sides of the boat while she is pulling out of the dock. That way nobody loses their fingers.
Backpacks are passed hand-to-hand into the cabin interior, down into the space called the hold. Students are curious about everything. Captain Roblee explains there's a bathroom down there, too, "but it's not fun to use."
The Agassiz moves undaunted ...

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