For Immediate Release: December 16, 2009

Contact: Annette Barnette
Public Relations & Marketing Director
Glenville State College
Glenville, WV
(304) 462-4115

Glenville, WV – Area residents and students now know more about the JASON Project at Glenville State College. Jason Dunion, a JASON Project Host Researcher, recently visited six public schools and GSC. Dunion is a scientist who flies hurricane hunter aircrafts directly into monster storms and is also known as a ‘Storm Tracker.’ His presentation was in relation to the JASON Project weather unit titled, Monster Storms. There are two separate units on ecology (Resilient Planet) and energy (Infinite Potential).

Glenville State College partnered with the JASON Project, a non-profit subsidiary of the National Geographic Society, to deliver science curriculum and professional development to area 5th through 8th grade science teachers. The goal of the JASON Project is to enrich the lives of local students and motivate them to learn science. The theories of science education are based on lighting the spark of inspiration through sustained connections with ‘great explorers and great events’.

A Student Argonaut Joey Botros traveled with Dunion and gave inspiration to the estimated 535 teachers and students in attendance at the full presentation in the GSC Fine Arts Auditorium on Friday, December 4th. Following the presentation, there was a reception for the GSC Hidden Promise Consortium and unveiling of the JASON Project hosted by Senator Doug Facemire and Delegate Brent Boggs. Earlier in the day, they visited schools in Gilmer, Braxton, and Nicholas Counties.

“We were thrilled to have in attendance JASON Project President Caleb Schutz along with his wife. The whole campus has been very supportive of this program, and I believe it is getting students more involved and excited about science and the world around them,” said Ed Toman, GSC Director of JASON Project and Coordinator of the Hidden Promise Consortium.

GSC and the JASON Project officials have been working together since this past June and have already trained 106 teachers and six student teachers through workshops held at the GSC campus. This program gives the students and teachers the opportunity to become Argonauts that work directly with JASON scientists. They are involved in the curriculum either in videos, workbooks, or promotional materials.

“The JASON Project has made science so accessible for these classrooms, and I am proud of all the work that has been put into the program thus far,” said Jessica Dorr, GSC JASON Project Science Coordinator.

In the works is the next unit of curriculum dealing with geology with influence by JASON Project partners including: The National Geographic Society, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) the Department of Energy, and other leading organizations. Toman and Dorr were pleased to announce the national JASON Project founder, Dr. Robert Ballard, will be coming to Glenville State College in the spring to discuss his triumphant discovery of the RMS Titanic.

For more information on the JASON Project, go online at www.jason.org or contact Toman at Edward.Toman@glenville.edu or (304) 462-6023.