The study of puffins can provide a fascinating subject area for the integrated learning of data and ecosystems. Once hunted to local extinction, puffins have made a dramatic yet fragile comeback and been re-established to historic nesting islands in mid-coast Maine. This project combines a scientific adventure story about puffin restoration with student-directed data investigations about the relationships between puffin health and environmental factors.

As the construction industry gears toward adopting data sensing technologies, there is a demand for creating and sustaining a workforce with skills for implementing the technologies and analyzing the resulting data to support decision-making. It is also essential to improve awareness of this Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) career option among all K-12 students, develop their understanding of the applications of data sensing technologies and improve their computational thinking skills in manipulating and using data.

This project addresses access to STEM educational experiences for rural students. Students from rural areas and small towns make up about 30% of the U.S. secondary school population but often lack inspirational STEM educational opportunities and experiences. This makes them less likely to pursue STEM majors in college, which is a potential loss of human talent in STEM innovation.