With the help of the Department of Education, RG Magazine asked Bermuda's SchoolChildren to give us their impression of the Jason Project. Space permits us to include just a few excerpts from an overwhelming response of essays, poems and artwork. Our Thanks to all the students and teachers who took the time to submit material.

What fascinated me about the Jason Project was the grey whales. I couldn't believe it when they just came up to the raft and let the student argonauts pat them. I personally would have been scared that they would tip over the small raft by accident. I was surprised to find out how friendly they are.

It is amazing to me that a creature so immense in size could be so graceful. I expected them to be clumsy and awkward. I certainly never knew how smart they actually are. How do they possibly know to migrate to the exact same place every year and never lose their way? Another thing that interested me was the fact that they are so friendly toward humans. You would think that after all that we did to them in the past that they would have learned to be afraid of humans and avoid us. Instead they swim close to shore and they let humans near without harm.

Many old timers tell stories about violent whales that tipped over huge boats with the thrust of its tail. The Jason Project has shown that the grey whale is a gentle, graceful creature with which we should learn to peacefully co-exist.

Our class saw Jason, the robot which can go down 20,000 feet underwater. The robot is named Jason because Jason was a great explorer of some 3,000 years ago. Jason is a remote-controlled machine. The part I liked best was when Jason was swimming underwater. he was collecting things from the ocean.

I also liked when Jason was taking samples from those worms. I liked the machine called Turtle and when they showed how Turtle moved its arms like a human.

The Jason Project is named after the Greek hero Jason, who was an explorer. he brought back information by boat from many other countries. Like Jason, Dr Robert ballard's machine is an explorer. It is a deep-diving submarine equipped with television cameras. Unlike Jason the hero, who took a very long time to return after his explorations, this project is designed to send back messages to the ship and from the ship all over the world within one second. I learned a lot about science and it takes a lot of work to become a scientist.

I found out that it is not just discovering things. Lorenzo Lambert, P5 Chapman, West End Primary.

We saw some college students and teachers camped by a lagoon in the Sea of Cortez. They had set up a camp called the Jason Project Whale Watching Camp.

One of the teachers had made a special balloon that he was supposed to put over the baby whale's blowhole. It measured how much oxygen a baby whale breathes. They also had special suction cups that they put on the baby whales.

It measured how much time the whales took between breaths. It doesn't even hurt the whales. The whales probably don't feel it. They were very friendly and swam right up to the boat that the teachers and students were using. Laura DeFrias, Mount St. Agnes.

Today I went to the Biological Station to see a new creation. To see the Jason Project in action we were shown the speed of light in a fraction. But, something was wrong Those words were too long. After the show some people had headaches and we also learned about the thing that caused earthquakes. The Jason Project is a group of projects that discover things from the depth of the ocean to an evergreen tree. After the show was over I asked a man if the Jason Project was coming to Bermuda. He said maybe in the future! Kenneth Brangman, P7 Purnell, Harrington Sound.

Jason Project Large, grey examining, gliding, sinking Piece of equipment Experiment Camille Hunt, P7 Purnell, Harrington Sound.

Journeying deep under the sea As interesting as possible Sea of Cortez and its treasure Obligation and navigation Never stop learning about marine life.

Fahir Zuill, P7 Purnell, Harrington Sound.

It was fascinating to know that the tube worms don't have eyes but with a single touch the tube worm will retract. I also experienced the hydro thermal vents. One of the vacuums that picks up things to be looked at went over one of the vents and melted. I knew the vents were hot, but not that hot. That's amazing. Kristen Di Giacomo, Mount St. Agnes.

Before studying (the Jason project), I never knew anything about chemosynthesis or the deep ocean floor. It was very interesting to see the high-tech machines and the live views of the quiet sea floor, the busy ship and the many scientists and students at work. Lauren Midon, Mount St. Agnes.

All of the underwater footage was very sharp, crisp and clear. As Dr. Ballard said, "It is pitch black down there'' and he is very right! It is blacker than the blackest black you have ever seen! but despite how black it was, Jason and the Turtle could light things up a little. Nathan Aguiar, Grade 6, Mount St. Agnes.

I think it was amazing that we could see what Dr. Ballard was doing all the way on the other side of the world. There was one thing I did not like - I would of liked to see more of the ocean floor. Nicola White, Mount St Agnes.

Jason is 7,000 feet underwater. Jason stays underwater for 12 hours. He weighs 3,500 pounds and is 6 feet long. Satellites are a big help to the Jason Project. The reason they are such a big help is that its energy goes straight to the television so we can see Jason. Laura DeFrias, Mount St. Agnes.

Today I went to the Biological Station to see a new creation. To see the Jason Project in action we were shown the speed of light in a fraction. But, something was wrong. Those words were too long. After the show some people had headaches and we also learned about the thing that caused earthquakes The Jason Project is a group of projects that discover things from the depth of the ocean to an evergreen tree. After the show was over I asked a man if the Jason Project was coming to Bermuda. He said maybe in the future! Kenneth Brangman, P7 Purnell, Harrington Sound Jason Project. Large, grey examining, gliding, sinking. Piece of equipment. Experiment. Camille Hunt, P7 Harrington Sound Journeying deep under the sea. As interesting as possible. Sea of Cortez and its treasure. Obligation and navigation. Never stop learning about marine life. Fahir Zuill, P7 Purnell, Harrington Sound.

It was fascinating to know that the tube worms don't have eyes but with a single touch the tube worm will retract. I also experienced the hydro thermal vents. One of the vacuums that picks up things to be looked at went over one of the vents and melted. I knew the vents were hot, but not that hot. That's amazing. Kristen Di Giacomeo, Mount St. Agnes.

Before studying (the Jason Project), I never knew anything bout chemosynthesis or the deep ocean floor. It was very interesting to see the high-tech machines and the live views of the quiet sea floor, the busy ship and the many scientist and students at work. Lauren Midon, Mount St. Agnes. All of the under water footage was very sharp, crisp and clear. As Dr. Ballard said, "It is pitch black down there'' and he is very right it is blacker than the blackest black you have ever seen! but despite how black it was, Jason and the Turtle could light things ups a little. Nathan Aguiar, Grad 6, Mount St.

Agnes.

Venessa Seymour, Paget Primary Collin Anderson, Form 3, Berkeley Institute Laura Bell, Grade 11, Mount St. Agnes Tori Wine, P5 Shabazz, Dellwood Primary.

RG MAGAZINE MAY 1993