Update: Mayor Rilling, Councilman Kydes Visit with Science Students at Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk

Updated at Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016: Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, Common Councilman John Kydes, students and Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk officials posed for a photograph Wednesday during the mayor's visit to the Aquarium to learn about the Mayor’s Student Engineering & Science Program.

Said Rilling, "This is a win-win for everyone – the city residents, the environment, and especially the kids. Thank you to The Maritime Aquarium, the Board of Education, and the Energy and Environment Task Force for their hard work with putting this all together."

Added Kydes, who is also chairman of the Mayor’s Energy and Environment Task Force, "This is an important program that can give these students the tools and the inspiration they need for high school and beyond. Showing the students that science and technology can be fun and exciting is critical. Congratulations to the Board of Education and The Maritime Aquarium for putting together such a great program."

Photo: Three of the 25 students participating in the Mayor’s Student Engineering & Science Program at The Maritime Aquarium stand with the summer camp’s organizers. In front, from left: Aisha Memon (rising 8 th -grader, Nathan Hale Middle School), Aaliyah McKenna (rising 8 th -grader, Ponus Ridge Middle School) and Jaynelise Chanhom (rising 9 th -grader, Norwalk High School). Back row, from left: Tom Naiman, the Aquarium’s director of education; Norwalk Councilman John Kydes, chairman of the Mayor’s Energy and Environment Task Force; Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling; Aquarium President Dr. Brian Davis; Tamre-Diane Mockus, K-12 Science & Health Instructional Specialist for the Norwalk Public Schools; and Tom Hamilton, chief financial officer of the Norwalk Public Schools. Photo credit: Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk

Original story: NORWALK, CT — Mayor Harry Rilling and Common Councilman John Kydes will visit with 25 teen students Wednesday who participated in the Norwalk Energy Efficiency Challenge as part of the Mayor’s Student Engineering & Science Program at the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.

The students study at the Maritime Aquarium marine science lab classroom, and they are currently in the midst of a project to build hydrophones, which are underwater listening devices.

Joining Rilling and Kydes will be Dr. Brian Davis, president of The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, and Tom Naiman, director of education for the facility.

This is the second year of the Mayor’s Student Engineering & Science Program, created to utilize the resources of The Maritime Aquarium in helping city teens achieve STEM literacy. Another 25 rising 8th and 9th graders participated in the program from July 4-8.

The program is free to the teens, thanks to donations from partners in the Norwalk Energy Efficiency Challenge and First County Bank.

Other program activities this week include probing Long Island Sound for live marine animals (at the beach and aboard the Aquarium’s new research vessel), discovering how organisms rely on each other within an ecosystem, IMAX movies, interactions with the Aquarium’s marine biologists and dive team, and more.