Far Rockaway Dives 9/30,10/1

Congrats to Juan for completing his NAUI Scuba Diver certification dives!  Once again, a super huge thanks to Ocean Horizons Scuba for being simply totally awesome!

Two beautiful days for diving.  Check it out, and you’ll check out a seahorse!!

A train to Far Rock

Checking the conditions

Guz, not afraid of anything

An unfortunate crab

Fishing in NYC

Wetsuitin' up

Me, Rolman, Paul, and Juan

Juan and Rolman being silly in the water

About to experience dive #1 for the weekend

Best friends ... aww!!

One GIGANTIC spider!!

One relatively decent sized fish.

Juan and me, just before dive #4

Actually, this is Juan and me just before dive #4

Juan and me, during dive #4

Juan, like a fish.

We found a bowling ball underwater. Gotta love NY.

Juan, showing us how it's done.

Juvenile Snowy Grouper

Hey everybody, look at me, I'm a starfish.

Butterfly fish, getting big!

Juan, with his souvenir.

More butterfly fish

Nice profile shot

Lizardfish

And the real prize of the day, a seahorse!!! Paul has been diving Beach 8th St. for over 30 years, and this is only the 3rd seahorse he's seen!

Awesome.

The Schooba Academy’s first hopefully annual fundraiser!

Thursday, 6/30/11, The Schooba Academy held their first hopefully annual fundraiser at Pub One in Dumbo, Brooklyn.  It was a truly great event, and I feel so tremendously lucky to have such an amazing network of people supporting Schooba.  We owe a huge thank you to all of the people that came out (seriously, ALL OF YOU!  Thank you so much.), to Gideon, Jesse,  and Amanda and Paige Management for their generous donations, and to the businesses that sponsored the event: Ascend Laboratories, Kyotofu, and Westwood Pool Company.  More thanks to Sam for handling the logistics, Steph for guest bartending, and of course Mom, Dad, Rob, Britt, Yosh, Adam, and Alyssa.  None of this would have been possible without you.

The good news is it isn’t over!  We’re giving away two final prizes via an online silent auction.  Click the link below to bid on a brand new K2 Morrow Radium Snowboard and a package of 6 microdermabrasion skin treatments from SLEEK MedSpa!  All bids must be placed by 8:00 PM, July 14, 2011.

The Schooba Academy – Online Silent Auction

And now some pics from the night!

Our official sign.

The support crew, in uniform.

Best cupcakes ever!! Thank you, Kyotofu!!

Making the trip from Connecticut!! ... Yes, that is a zooplankton ecologist on the left.

Manning the door ... womanning the door?

Setting up the movie theater. Thank you Joe and Pete!

Makin' money!

Adam, ensuring the bathrooms are up to Schooba standards.

Juan and Rolman, hanging out in matching shirts.

The vibe.

Win it here!

Schooba's NY Director of Things Related to Computers

"Would you like that Manhattan with bourbon, Canadian whiskey, or rye?"

Schooba Mentors, looking cool.

Every picture ever taken at any Schooba event on slideshow.

Let the raffle begin!

Pretty much the coolest prize ever.

Naui Scuba Diver Course, Class 4

Only 1 class to go until the open water dives and our first fully certified Schoobents!  Here are some pics and videos from their 4th session:

Getting serious in class.

Breeding healthy divers.

Answering one of Rolman's many awesome questions.

The first ever Schooba Academy water bottle! Super huge thanks to Rob V. for the gift.

The kids, trying to look cool ... Rolman not doing very good.

...And blowing it completely. ...Especially Rolman.

The totally awesome mentors.

Getting good at this whole scuba thing.

Out of air emergencies: Alternate air source ascents.

Lookin' good.

Listening to Instructor Jimmy, going over Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascents.

And then practicing them.

Quincy looking comfortable waiting for his turn to go.

And a short video of the Schoobents practicing their skills:

DLT Foundation grants $500 to Schooba!

The DLT Foundation provides funds to organizations and individuals that transform and affect the quality of the way people live.  A super huge thanks to them for supporting our Schooba Mentor program!

3rd attempt of me trying to take a picture of myself with the DLT check. ... Artistic or photographically impaired?

Naui Scuba Diver Course, Class 3

3/5 in the books.  Check it:

A classroom session to start, of course.

Boyle's Law? Yeah, we know that.

Getting ready to set up our gear.

Rolman, confident with the attachment of his regulator.

You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. Scuba is all about the teamwork.

Gideon, with a nice Giant Stride Entry.

John, with some good buoyancy.

Rolman, demonstrating a killer fin pivot.

Lining up for an underwater lap.

Gideon, neutrally buoyant.

"What you doing?" "Oh, you know, just practicing my buoyancy."

Quincy: "Man, that was so fun. Hey Dierre, do you think it's possible to surgically implant gills behind my ears like Kevin Costner in Waterworld?" Dierre: "As a science teacher, I think I'm obligated to tell you no." Quincy: "Dang. Guess I'll just settle for scuba."

Schooba partners with NYSMEA

NYSMEA, the New York State Marine Educators Association, “exists to promote marine awareness and encourage the growth and exchange of instructional resources within the scientific, commercial, and educational communities.”  …Sounds good to us!

Check us out in their partners page

 

Naui Scuba Diver Course, Class 2

Pics from the second class of our certification course:

Quincy on the train, studying before class.

Quincy in class, learning about the Eustachian tube

Learning the science of scuba.

Instructor, Paul Bardo

Yes, there will be a test.

JB, looking cool in his swim cap.

You wanna dive? ... You can carry your own equipment.

Learning to assemble the equipment.

Rolman checking his equipment.

Juan and Quincy doing the same.

Quincy, about to take his first breaths on the SCUBA

Learning to trust our equipment. Notice we're not wearing any masks.

Breathing ... underwater ... with no masks.

Juan so comfortable and trusting he's dozing off.

And lastly, a random pic of a little surface swimming.

World Science Festival

The 2011 World Science Festival was a five day festival with over 50 events in NYC.  On Sunday, 6/5, the festivities came to a close with a bustling street fair in Washington Square Park.  Schooba presented at the Science of Underwater Exploration booth, where we exhibited 6 household experiments that teach standards-based science through scuba diving.  Have a look at some of our pics from the event.

A bustling event.

The alley of our booth ... yes, I'm poetic.

The West Lab.

So bustling, I couldn't even get a head on shot of the sign.

Science of Underwater Exploration

Behind our booth

Not just a children's show

Teaching science through SCUBA

Kid 1: "Ughh, I'm just so fed up. Why won't anyone teach me what science is involved in underwater exploration?" Kid 2: "Hey! Look over there!"

Science from higher altitudes

Answering questions

The Cartesian Condiment

Oooooo

Cloud in a bottle

Increasing the pressure

And BAM! ...A wow moment.

Meet the inaugural class for the Schooba Mentor program!

Tuesday, 5/31, The Schooba Academy launched its Schooba Mentor program.  In this, our newest program, three students from Lyons Community School have been paired with three totally awesome mentors to complete a full scuba certification course together.  The students are simultaneously receiving free, private tutoring on the science involved in scuba diving.  Have a look at some pics from their first session.

Follow the links below to learn more about the newest Schoobents and to help support them in their quest to Schooba!

Gideon & Juan

Dierre & Quincy

John & Rolman

Naui Scuba Diver Course, Class 1

The Schooba Mentor program kicked off this past Tuesday, and both students and mentors began their training for the Naui Scuba Diver Certification.  Instruction for the course is being run by Ocean Horizons Scuba.  All classes will consist of a classroom and pool session.  Tuesday provided a basic introduction to scuba and its equipment, followed by a pool session covering basic swimming and skin diving skills and techniques.  Session 1 is in the books, so grab a slice at Schmooks, your crochet hooks, that Sharper Image alarm clock that made sounds of babbling brooks,  and have a looks!

John and Rolman, walking on the street.

Gideon, Juan, and Quincy, talking and walking at the same time.

Dierre and Quincy, about to walk into their first ever scuba class.

In the classroom, checking out the reading material.

Rolman and Juan, showing off their scuba stuff.

"No, Quincy, sleep is important. Please don't stay up all night reading your new scuba manual. Try and spread it out over a few days." - Me

Laser focus.

Sponge-like minds, in action.

Learning about diving cylinders.

The classroom

The crew, looking cool and fit, by the pool.

Now with their scuba instructor, Paul Bardo of Ocean Horizons Scuba.

The pool

Mask clearing.

Quincy and Dierre, about to learn some scuba skills.

Perfecting our kicks.

John and Rolman, finding it funny that they both had dreams about scuba diving the previous night.