ISEA: Curiosity, Stewardship and Passion

Friday, July 17, 2015
By Kyle Kaminski,  Lead Writer
Source | Grand Traverse Insider

ISEA gears up for annual Great Lakes Celebration

SUTTONS BAY — Boat tours, children’s games, live music, food, a classic boat show and much more will be lining the coast of Lake Michigan’s Suttons Bay next weekend for the Inland Seas Education Association (ISEA) Great Lakes Celebration. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 25, the event will be held at the Education Center in Suttons Bay and admission is free.

Organizers say all ages will be able to find something to do while celebrating what the Great Lakes has to offer. “At the event, there will be dockside tours,” said ISEA’s Lisa Sitkins. “There will be kids’ experiments, games and crafts – so there will be things for 1-8 year-olds and for 8-12 year-olds. We’ll have something for everybody.” The event will also be geared for adults with the inclusion of boat shop demonstrations, a nautical flea market, several display booths and multiple Great Lakes-related demonstrations.

Returning for 2015 will be the popular classic boat show that originally launched the celebration. “It used to be called the classic boat show, and I’m not sure how long ago that was,” Sitkins said, estimating it was about five years ago. “It was mostly just classic boats but we’ve been adding kids’ activities and it’s geared more toward a wider audience now.” Those interested in submitting a boat for the show need to fill out a registration sheet online at schoolship.org or contact Tom Kelly at tkelly@schoolship.org.

New to the celebration, the nonprofit ISEA will be hosting remote-operated vehicle demonstrations and a search-and-rescue demonstration involving a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. The demonstrations — along with multiple food vendors — will be operating around 2 p.m.

The Inland Seas Education Association opened in 1989 with a simple message: “inspire curiosity, stewardship and passion for our Great Lakes.” For more than 25 years, the nonprofit has provided lessons on aquatic science, environmental awareness and sailing to more than 100,000 students coming from schools throughout the Midwest. “We really rely on the Great Lakes for our economy,” Sitkins said. “It’s important to protect that (resource) and in the process of the celebration, we get our message out to the community on the importance of stewardship.”

Every year, as many as 5,000 students sail and learn about the Great Lakes aboard ISEA’s science-lab equipped Schoolship Inland Seas and chartered Manitou. The lessons taught during Schoolship programs are aligned with the Michigan curriculum expectations for science and social studies, and often go beyond what is traditionally taught in a classroom. Programs offered throughout the summer are geared for individuals of all ages and cover a variety of Great Lakes-related topics.

For more information about the Inland Seas Education Association, its programs and the upcoming celebration, visit schoolship.org. Kyle Kaminski can be reached at kkaminski@michigannewspapers.com.