EVERETT — Everett Community College’s Ocean Research College Academy invites the public to an open house tonight.
The event is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the academy’s waterfront location, 1205 Craftsman Way, Suite 203, in Everett.
The academy, also known as ORCA, is an early-college program for high school students. Students study environmental conditions, such as pollution and marine habitat, in local inland waters.
Visitors may learn about the program and the work done by students, meet faculty members and see the facility, which includes an oceanography research lab and 120-gallon seawater tank.
Student work on display at the open house will include a look at heavy-metal pollution in Possession Sound and river otter abundance and distribution.
Students can earn up to two years of college credit while completing their high school education at ORCA. Most students graduate with an associate’s degree in addition to a high school diploma.
The program is the only early college academy of its kind in the country, according to EvCC. The academy is sponsored by EvCC and was initially funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The academy was recently awarded two National Science Foundation grants, including one for the construction of a 34-foot research vessel.
Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; bsheets@heraldnet.com.
More about ORCA
For more information, contact ORCA executive director Ardi Kveven at 425-267-0156 or go to www.everettcc.edu/orca.
Read The Herald’s story about the ORCA program at http://tinyurl.com/EvCCorca
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