We've all seen how video-sharing websites have the power to make everyday events such as frolicking kids and frisky kitchens go viral. Well then, we should be able to harness that power to deliver engaging content about items that impact our every day. Items such as climate change, water quality, and public health issues—topics so important, they warrant space on our screens. The challenge is that these topics don't have the warm and fuzzy factor of frolicking kids and frisky kittens.

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Chilling question when your middle school days are long behind you and you're reminded of just how not hip you are each time you put on the tv, the radio, or Google. Nonetheless, What would a 7th grader do? --has been the guiding question for the coral and climate change module IAN is developing for the Pacific Island Network Inventory and Monitoring Program at the National Park Service (NPS).

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Tim Carruthers and I have just completed two site visits to the War in the Pacific National Historical Park (WAPA) on Guam and the American Memorial Park (AMME) on Saipan. The IAN science communication workshops went really well and the parks' managers and staff were very excited and engaged in forging two new products, a park brochure for WAPA and a poster for AMME, both featuring the natural and cultural resources of the parks.

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On Saturday June 12th the Choptank Tributary Team held their annual wade-in in conjunction with the Environmental Concern native plant sale. Team members were able to see their feet at a depth of 25 inches, a one inch improvement from last year. In the picture below are Delegate Jeannie Haddaway Riccio, State Senate Candidate Chris Jakubiak with his children, Choptank River Keeper Tim Junkin, and Trib Team members Bill Wolinski and Jennifer Dindinger.

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This title refers to our attempt to use science communication to make a difference in the world. We really do aim to make a global impact with our science communication applications. An indicator of how science communication is applied globally is that the free IAN symbol libraries have been utilized extensively. Over fifty-five thousand people from around the world have now downloaded this from two hundred and thirty-seven countries, virtually, the entire planet.

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The flight from Hawaii to American Samoa arrives at night, so the warm moist air is immediately apparent - but tantalizing, as it is necessary to wait till the morning to begin to appreciate the people and places that make these islands unique.

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This year, Horn Point Laboratory was the host for a High School Science Symposium that has been taking place for several years at the culmination of the Talbot County Public School high school science curriculum. Students must complete a scientific research project that is either experimental or research based, under the tutelage of a professional scientist in the field of study. This year, as in year's past, many of these mentors were scientists from the Cooperative Oxford Laboratory.

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Several times each year, IAN teaches a course on effectively communicating science. On May 12-13th, Bill Dennison (IAN) and Caroline Wicks (EcoCheck) traveled to Toronto, Ontario to teach the course to scientists and communication specialists who work for local conservation authorities. Conservation Ontario, the umbrella organization that oversees regional and local conservation authorities, helped provide funding for the course. The website states:

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One of the great joys in working in a collaborative team is the relationships formed with team members. Even when individuals go elsewhere to pursue their careers, it is very satisfying to watch them grow and develop professionally.

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Each summer, undergraduate science majors arrive in Maryland to join a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation entitled Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. The Maryland effort is led by Dr. Fredricka Moser from Maryland Sea Grant. Fredricka assembles a panel in the spring to select students from a huge number of stellar applications, and the panel also matches students with faculty mentors.

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