NGI Education & Outreach personnel present results of educational research and provide professional development programs regionally and nationwide.
While this collection of images does not originate on the U.S. Gulf Coast, these images were taken in conjunction with an ongoing project studying Green Sea turtles, in partnership with the Mississippi Aquarium and MSU Dept of Communication - Theatre For Young Audiences Project:
"Banner - A Sea Turtle Saga" and Original Travelling Educational Children's Musical Theatre Production written by T.S. Hays
"Banner - A Sea Turtle Saga" and Original Travelling Educational Children's Musical Theatre Production written by T.S. Hays
Results and findings were presented at the Hawaii University International Conference on STEM/STEAM Education in O'ahu, Hawaii.
Papers and presentations for 2021 and 2022 include:
Harris, J. G., Dyer, J. L., Turnage, G., Skarke, A., (2022), Initial benefits and outcomes of experiential learning programs in complex field sciences., Proceedings and Programs, Hawaii University International Conferences, Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, STEM/STEAM and Education, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Harris, J. G., Hays, T., (2022), Performing Arts as an Integrated Method for Teaching STE(A)M Concepts to Middle and High School Students., Proceedings and Programs, Hawaii University International Conferences, Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, STEM/STEAM and Education, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Sun, Y., Dyer, J., Harris, J., and Mohammadi-Aragh, M. J., Thomas, L., (2022), Preparing Teachers to Teach Spatial Computational Thinking with IDV Visualization of Weather Data: Proceedings and Programs, Hawaii University International Conferences, Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, STEM/STEAM and Education, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Harris, J. G., Dyer, J. L., Turnage, G., Skarke, A., 2022, Initial benefits and outcomes of experiential learning programs in complex field sciences., Proceedings and Programs, Hawaii University International Conferences, Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, STEM/STEAM and Education, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Harris, J. G., Hays, T., 2022, Performing Arts as an Integrated Method for Teaching STE(A)M Concepts to Middle and High School Students., Proceedings and Programs, Hawaii University International Conferences, Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, STEM/STEAM and Education, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Sun, Y., Dyer, J., Harris, J., and Mohammadi-Aragh, M. J., Thomas, L., 2022, Preparing Teachers to Teach Spatial Computational Thinking with IDV Visualization of Weather Data: Proceedings and Programs, Hawaii University International Conferences, Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, STEM/STEAM and Education, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Sun, Y., Ko, P., Dyer, J., Harris, J., and Mohammadi-Aragh, M. J., 2021, Preparing Teachers to Teach Computational Thinking with 3D Weather Data Visualization: Proceedings and Programs, Hawaii University International Conferences, Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, STEM/STEAM and Education, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Banner - A Sea Turtle Saga is an original musical production created by Mississippi State faculty and students which aims to educate the next generation about being good stewards of the Gulf of Mexico’s resources and marine habitat.
MSU’s Jonathan Harris, Northern Gulf Institute education and outreach director and marine scientist, joined with Tonya Hays, an award-winning playwright and communication faculty member, to create the original children’s musical. They also worked with students in the Theater MSU organization and in Hays’ Theater for Young Audiences class.
The play tells the story of a green sea turtle named Banner and his sea-creature friends who go on an underwater adventure. The story teaches about the dangers marine animals face due to plastic pollution, oil spills and climate change.
As part of the production, MSU students worked with large-scale puppetry designed by Tim Baker, a professional sculptor, propmaker and special effects artist who has worked with Marvel Studios and Universal Orlando on multiple film projects. In addition to capturing children’s attention with his imaginative puppets, Baker will give a free puppetry workshop for MSU theatrical students.
Harris said through education and outreach, MSU’s Northern Gulf Institute has an objective to inform and engage the public about protecting the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystem by relating research findings in understandable and accessible methods.
“We are increasingly concerned about the influence of human activity on the Gulf’s marine ecosystems. For instance, tons of plastic waste end up in the Gulf, killing or harming sea life and changing marine ecosystems,” he said. “We need to inform and inspire the next generation to help us conserve, protect and restore the Gulf to protect our health, quality of life and survival.”
The musical play is written by Hays, an assistant professor with an interest in writing plays for young audiences and a passion for producing theater to impact social change. Original music and lyrics are by Aubrey Hays, Curtis McMurtry, and Diane Burgess, with additional lyrics by Bella Bingham.
“After seeing the musical, our hope is that the students really understand how everything is connected and how we interact with the world around us matters. In the end, the children learned to care for and protect the Gulf because they want it to be a better place—not just for the sea creatures, but for themselves too,” Hays said.
NGI, the play’s sponsor, also provided funding to take the musical production on the road for a performance at the Mississippi Aquarium in Gulfport on Nov. 22 and at the Southeastern Theater Conference Fringe Festival in Memphis in the spring.
For more information, contact Harris at jharris@ngi.msstate.edu. For more about Theatre MSU upcoming shows, visit www.comm.msstate.edu/theatre-msu.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.
As the "sea cretures" in the play were threatened by an oil spill, the effect of an oil spill, as experienced by the audience, involved a stitched black silk sheet 80 feet across quickly drawn over the audience's heads.
