Glade Creek Elementary science teacher to study manatee in Belize

"I like planning, thinking of new ideas, all the excitement," said Pamela Braley, who teaches science to grades six through eight at Glade Creek Elementary School. "I like challenging myself every year. I try not to do the same thing twice....If I'm enthused and having fun, the kids will, too."

Braley likes to get her pupils involved personally in science. When studying the atmosphere, for example, they go outside and take measurements such as humidity and barometric pressure.

In keeping with that philosophy, Braley will soon embark on her own up-close-and-personal scientific adventure, traveling with the Virtual Explorers (VE) organization to Belize (formerly the British Honduras) to study the manatee.

"It's an opportunity to do hands-on research in science, rather than textbook research. That really interests me," she said.

An aquatic mammal, the manatee is similar to the walrus, Braley explained, slow-moving and gentle. The manatee is commonly called the sea cow. "They're called mermaids, but they're not pretty. They're homely animals."

They are also an endangered species. "The biggest danger is collisions with motorboats, because they live in shallow water," she said. Braley plans to leave Aug. 28, staying for one week of the two-week VE

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