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Getting a Feel for Ocean Science

This spring, WHOI geobiologist Joan Bernhard (left) and geologist Véronique Le Roux (right) introduced students at the Perkins School for the Blind to foraminifera, or forams: small, single-celled organisms that abound in ocean waters and seafloor sediments. Bernhard collected a variety of forams which Le Roux scanned using x-ray micro-computed tomography. The computer models were then enlarged, 3-D printed, and chilled or warmed to reflect their native habitats. The students handled the models while listening to related audio, creating a multisensory experience. For example, for a deep-sea species, the model was refrigerated, and the students heard a recording of communications between the research vessel Atlantis and WHOI’s human-occupied submersible Alvin, which Bernhard has used to collect forams. (Photo courtesy of Véronique Le Roux, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)