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Argonaut Program
Argonaut Program Description
Each year, some hard working and talented students and teachers are selected to join the JASON Project expedition team at
the broadcast site as Student and Teacher Argonauts. These individuals come from all over the United States and are selected
from PIN Sites just like the Bell Museum. If you have a special student in your class who has a unique passion for exploration
and discovery or if you would like to get involved yourself, please consider this wonderful opportunity.
Deadlines for JASON XV have already passed, but applications for the following JASON expedition will be available in October 2003. Applications for the Teacher Argonaut Program are due February 2004, while applications for the Student Argonaut Program are due March 2004. Applications are obtained and submitted to the Bell Museum, so please contact us if you have questions or if you would like to apply.
Argonaut Overnights
If you have a student that is interested in becoming a Student Argonaut, but has limited experience with the
program, they can sign up for the Argonaut-in-Training Overnight. Students grade 6-8 will spend all day Saturday exploring the JASON
curricular themes through fun, hands-on activities, sleep in the Touch and See room and wake to a light breakfast.
Date: TBA
Time: TBA
Program Price: $50.00
JASON XIV: Ben Hovland
The Bell Museum is proud to announce the selection of Ben Hovland as this year's elite JASON Project Student Argonaut. Ben will be
attending eighth grade this year at Clara Barton School in Minneapolis. This fall Ben will be working with the Bell Museum and
the JASON Foundation as he prepares for an exciting weeklong expedition to the Channel Islands.
"Looking ahead to the trip to the Channel Islands, I'm eager to get a chance to work with acclaimed scientists and other students
like me who are highly motivated and passionate about science. Seeing the actual broadcast site and being able to experience it
all first hand is something else I'm very excited about."
JASON XII: Scott Cypher
Scott Cypher, an 8th grader from Parkers Prairie High School, was our student Argonaut for JASON XII Hawaii: A Living Laboratory.
He enjoys subjects such as biology, geography and computer science. In his spare time, he takes part in extracurricular
activities which include the student council, football team, basketball team, and Students Outstanding Achievement Results
(SOAR). When he's not busy with school and extracurricular activities, he is busy doing his chores on his parent's hobby farm
or taking his dog for a walk. Scott particularly enjoys the mystery aspect of science. He is intrigued by flight, especially
the jets of war and how they were able to lift something so large and get it moving so fast. Scott is a real team player and
we were proud to have him as our JASON XII Argonaut and enjoyed seeing him in Hawaii.
JASON XI: Kristen Becklund
Kristen is a student at Minnetonka High School. She enjoys several school sports, including basketball, cross country
running, and track & field. She also is active in theater, as well as science fair, where she is doing a long-term study on
water quality. When not in school, Kristen enjoys art, poetry, playing piano, and anything outside, like camping in the
Boundary Waters. Kristen traveled to NASA Houston with Dr. Ballard and a team of scientists in February of 2000.
JASON X: Rachel Johnson
JASON IX: Gretta Stritesky
JASON VIII: Megan Ryan
JASON VII: Kathi Jo Jankowski
JASON Experience: "JASON has been the most memorable and influential experience of my life. It was an incredible opportunity
to learn about science and the people that are scientists."
Most memorable moment: "Standing on the deck of the NR-1 support ship and drinking in the vastness of the ocean: Most exciting moment was driving the world's only miniature nuclear submarine!"
Impact: "JASON changed me. I gained a lot more confidence in myself and in my dreams. It has inspired me to keep pursuing my goals.
JASON VI: Angela Casale
JASON V: Paul Cartwright
"I am glad to have had the experience as an Argonaut in such a different place as Belize. The traveling that was
involved interested me and began a phase of traveling to remote places for fun and knowledge. JASON gave me the confidence to
travel to both Russia and Australia as well as exciting my interest in science."
Most memorable moment: "Cutting my foot open on a conch shell."
Impact: "I see JASON as having been sort of a Genesis for me, starting me on the journey to where ever I am going now."
JASON XIII: Carla-Rae Lange
2/5 Tuesday - The most amazing day of my life so far!
We did our daily 3a.m. wake up and early breakfast followed by the ride to the visitor center for the broadcasts. While we were
setting up for broadcasts we were called outside to see the northern lights dancing just over the mountain peaks. We dragged
ourselves away and got ready for the show... As we got ready to go on air for one broadcast a pack of wolves crossed the lake
on the frozen ice. Is this Alaska or what? I didn't get a good look at them, they were just moving dots in the distance,
but the cameraman got a wonderful shot with his zoom lens. Hopefully it will be part of the highlight video that we get.
JASON XI: Marlene Schoeneck
During the live expedition, Marlene traveled to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where JASON studied the
International Space Station.
JASON IX: Letitia Laske
JASON VI: Paul Varsho
JASON V: D.C. Randle
Most memorable moments: Sitting at dinner with Dr. Ballard and hearing him tell the story of finding the Titanic. Finding
new openings in the cave systems, areas where no human had ever explored. Seeing my student Argonauts swim across the Blue
Creek in the rain and then dancing on the other side as it was the first rainfall we had experienced in the rain forest. Finding
the ant gardens in the canopy. Finding and catching the animals used during the live broadcasts.
How JASON impacted me: "For the first time, it brought everything I ever dreamed of teaching my students to life. Now I am networking with scientists all over the world and helping with their research."
JASON Project Distance Learning Site Map
College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences
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Last modified on April 10, 2003.