Students in Oceanography class explored a kelp holdfast to discover the types of animals that live there.

Giant kelp is not a plant but is an algae that grows rapidly.  Instead of roots it attaches to the seafloor with a structure called the holdfast.  The kelp holdfast is home and hiding place for many invertebrate animals.

 Brittle stars, shrimp, clams, whelks, tube worms, polychaete worms and many more animals were discovered in the kelp holdfast.

Robotics Competition at Enterprise Middle School in Compton, California

 Check out the ball dropping in with two seconds left.

Our girls team placed 4th out of 18 teams in just their second competition.

R.J. Frank Academy of Engineering students are competing at Enterprise Middle School in Compton California on Saturday February 20, 2016.

R.J. Frank Academy of Engineering students are competing at Enterprise Middle School in Compton, California on Saturday February 20, 2016.  The advanced robotics students, from left to right are, Jazmyne, Alyssa, and Stephanie. Their robot is designed for this year's Vex Robotic Competition "Nothing But Net".  The robots are built and programmed to pick up balls and shoot them into a goal.

Oceanography Class is learning about marine organism monitoring with the LiMPETs

Marine Biologist Jessie Alstatt is teaching our oceanography students how to observe and monitor marine organisms in the inter-tidal zone.

Click here to learn more about LiMPETS

Hippocratic Circle Dinner and meeting.

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A partnership between Kaiser Permanente and R.J. Frank called the

Hippocrates Circle Program provides awareness to 52 R.J. Frank students that a career as a physician is possible.

Learning about water quality in the watershed with project RESTOR

 Penny Owens is teaching students about measuring water quality.

 Students are learning how the watershed collects rainwater and delivers it to the ocean

 Students study how the quality of that water affects local species like the steelhead trout.

Using Song to learn about the marine algae that glows in the dark.

Students learn about the marine algae Pyrocystis fusiformis.  Each seventh grade student at R.J. Frank Academy of Marine Science and Engineering received a lesson from two or three Cal State University Channel Islands science students.  They learned what Pyrocystis fusiformis is, why it is important, where it lives and how to take care of it.  Students also received a vial of the algae that they can take home and watch it glow at night.  This activity is designed to spark an interest in marine science education as well as to promote a college going culture.

Sixth Graders Visit the Sea Center in Santa Barbara

Students modeled beach erosion and learned how the beach profile can change with  the seasons.

Students measured the slope of the beach.

At R.J. Frank Academy of Marine Science and Engineering, students are getting fantastic educational experiences.

Students are using their math skills  to determine the slope of the beach.

While one group of students was outside determining the beach profile and learning about erosion,....

......the other group of students was on the wharf at the Sea Center Aquarium....

.....learning about the ecology of the kelp forest and other marine habitats.

The students learned that bat stars, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers all belong to the same group of animals called the echinoderms.

Students even got to pet a shark.

Electronic Engineering in the Science Classroom

Students design circuits on paper first and then using LittleBits hardware build their projects.

In this challenge a motion sensor is triggered which completes a circuit and lights an LED.

In this challenge  a light sensor is placed in the circuit so the LED turns off when the box is closed.

Computer engineering and robotics in the 8th grade science classroom at R.J. Frank Academy of Marine Science and Engineering

R.J. Frank Students visit The Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, Or what the kids call "The Bird Museum"

After the visit to the bird museum, students went "birding" at Parque Del Sol.

Engineering and Robotics Students Competing With Vex Robotics

R.J. Frank Lobos are watching their teammates control the robots.

This robot which is controlled by Juan was designed using Vex parts.  Students learn mechanical, structural and computer engineering in building these robots.

The goal of the competition is to score goals.  This robot is designed to pick up balls and shoot them in the net.