Ms. Forthman traveled to the rain forest as an argonaut in Jason Project XV. A scientist named Dr. Robert Ballard, the person who located the remains of the sunken Titanic, began the Jason Project. Dr. Ballard heard from thousands of kids after his exciting discovery of the shipwreck, and he wanted to devise a way to let students participate in the excitement of real scientific work, not just reading semi-boring information in textbooks. The Jason Project began with this idea and has now organized expeditions for 14 years that bring together top scientists doing real research in far-flung locations with a small group of students and teachers who participate on site. Literally millions of students from Alaska to Argentina to right here at Deepwater Jr. High follow along by using the Jason website and attending live broadcasts showing the activities of the student researchers. While Ms. Forthman worked in the rain forest, all of the students from Deepwater Jr. High went on a trip to NASA to watch a live broadcast from the research sites in Panama.

During a two-week stay, the researchers and kids examined the rain forest ecosystems, learned about the geology of the area, looked at how human activity, especially the building of the Panama Canal, has impacted the environment, and explored the regional culture. Ms. Forthman spent most of her time on Barro Colorado Island, but she also rode on a tugboat that pilots ships through the Panama Canal. While aboard, the tug goes through a set of locks that acts as an elevator for ships. Using water, the ships are moved to a higher or lower elevation so they can continue up or down the canal.

Ms. Forthman wants her experiences with Jason Project XV to show students here and around the world that science is not just in books or air conditioned laboratories, but is also action-oriented, outdoorsy, and involved with all the important things we tend to take for granted—animals, plants, food, medicine, air, water, soil, to name just a few. Ms. Forthman is passionate about the rain forest and its important part in our lives, even though it’s thousands of miles from here. Her goal is to continue to work summers on projects that will help protect and preserve the rain forest. Her dream is that someday, when her teaching career is over, she will be able to devote herself full-time to a job as an environmentalist.