Updated: Free excursions aboard Agassiz research vessel at Chassell Strawberry Festival July 12

Michigan Tech's research vessel Agassiz awaits passengers between excursions during the 2007 Strawberry Festival in Chassell. (Keweenaw Now file photos © 2007 Michele Bourdieu)

HOUGHTON -- Get a view from the lake! Free 45-minute scientific excursions aboard Michigan Tech's research vessel Agassiz will be offered at the Chassell Strawberry Festival on Saturday, July 12.

Excursions will depart from the Chassell Marina at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.; if there is sufficient demand, a fourth will depart at 4 p.m. Come early to sign up. Seventeen persons may participate on each excursion (must be 7 years of age or older). Life jackets are available for all passengers. Displays and educational materials will be available for public viewing onshore.

Young passengers on the Agassiz observe samples of sediment from Portage Lake being collected by Martin Auer, MTU professor of civil and environmental engineering, as Agassiz Captain Stephen Roblee supervises during a 2007 Strawberry Festival educational excursion on the research vessel.

"Residents and visitors are encouraged to discover how scientists study the Great Lakes and what factors contribute to a healthy lake," says Joan Chadde, program coordinator. "These scientific excursions have been offered for the past two summers and have been very well attended. Youth and adults will enjoy the opportunity to interact with Great Lakes scientists and ask questions."

Aboard the Agassiz in July 2007, a curious young science student observes samples from the bottom of Portage Lake as MTU Professor Martin Auer explains some of the organisms on the slide. Both youth and adults have the opportunity to participate in the free excursions, which will be offered again this Saturday, July 12, during the 2008 Strawberry Festival in Chassell.

The event is coordinated by the Western UP Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education with funding from the Michigan Space Grant Consortium, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Coastal Management Program, Chassell Lions Club, the Wege Foundation, the Michigan Tech Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry and the Michigan Tech Remote Sensing Institute.

Update: See the complete Schedule of Events for the 2008 Strawberry Festival on the Einerei Web site.