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Grassy Key, FL… Middle school students in more than 1600 classrooms and 21 countries recently selected Dolphin Research Center (DRC) as a first place winner in the 2015 Ocean 180 Video Challenge for its Blindfolded Imitation research study.  Almost 38,000 student judges evaluated 10 finalists based on their creativity, message and educational value and ultimately determined which three-minute video abstracts best explained the results and significance of the scientists’ research.  The Blindfolded Imitation research revealed that bottlenose dolphins can imitate actions without using their eyesight.  Besides humans, dolphins are the only species that have so far demonstrated this ability.  In addition to a trophy, the non-profit marine mammal research and education facility will also receive a $3,000 prize to honor its work in communicating science to the public.  One Florida Keys school, Treasure Village Montessori, Islamorada, was among the 336 schools that cast ballots.

DRC participated in the Ocean 180 Challenge to further advance their mission of teaching, learning and caring about marine mammals and the environment.  “We’re excited that the students awarded us first place.  But we felt like we won in the most important way when we became a finalist, and tens of thousands of kids watched the videos in the judging process, and got to learn about dolphin research,” said DRC Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Mandy Rodriguez.

The challenge also provided a way to reach the next generation of ocean scientists.  As Director of Research Dr. Kelly Jaakkola explained, “For a lot of students, science can have a negative, scary image.  They picture people in white lab coats talking about topics that nobody understands in the most boring, unimaginative way possible.  If we want to get kids excited about science, we need to change that image.”

Dolphin Research Center’s video was created by the center’s Research, Media and Visual Communications staff which placed it in the category designated for videos produced with professional assistance.  All of the finalists in the 2015 challenge can be viewed online at http://ocean180.org.  The Ocean 180 Video Challenge, sponsored by the Florida Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence (COSEE Florida) and funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation, was designed to inspire scientists to communicate the meaning and significance of scientific research with a broader audience.