Scientists in the making

By AG STAFF 4 June 2014
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High school students will design and build a temporary home for an underwater superhero.

Adventurer Lloyd Godson hopes to inspire a love of science in high school students by having them design and build an underwater sphere, in which he intends to live for a month.

Lloyd is famous for his record-breaking underwater feats, such as his AGS-sponsored BioSUB Project (AG 81), which saw him living in a human-powered submarine for two weeks in 2007. His new mission, Sea Stars of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), is an extension of the BioSUB Project.

Lloyd, who is studying to become a high school teacher, says the habitat design is inspired by sea urchins and will feature a shell made of hexagons of varying sizes.

The students will use plans from N55, a Denmark-based firm known for taking on obscure design challenges. Lloyd plans to adopt a superhero persona during the AGS-sponsored project, and he will broadcast updates online.

“I realised how much interest these ‘off the wall’ projects generate – especially among young people – so I try to develop projects that capture kids’ imaginations and motivate them to get into the sciences,” he says.

The design phase will last up to six months, and the project should be ready to launch in early 2015.

“After the habitat is built, I just need to find a location and secure permits to sink it somewhere,” he says. “This project will let the students take the theory they learn in school and apply it in a strange – and intriguing – way.”