April 11, 2014
P R E S S R E L E A S E
Marine Museum at Fall River, MA
Contact: Mary Concannon, Curator; 508 674 3533
RE: MAY 2nd, JOIN US IN A VERY SPECIAL EVENT:
At the Marine Museum at Fall River, Come Hear Dr. Robert Ballard, Oceanographer, Historian, & Explorer-- Best Known for his 1985 Discovery of the TITANIC.
At our upcoming, fundraising event, come hear one of the great explorers of our time...at the Marine Museum, Fall River. Dr. Robert Ballard has succeeded in tracking down numerous other significant shipwrecks, including the German battleship Bismarck, the lost fleet of Guadalcanal, the U.S. aircraft carrier YORKTOWN (sunk in the World War II Battle of Midway) and John F. Kennedy's boat, PT-109.
His discoveries also include sunken remains of ships along ancient trade routes in the Mediterranean Sea; two ancient Phoenician ships off Israel, the oldest shipwrecks ever found in deep water; and four 1,500 year-old wooden ships, one almost perfectly preserved in the Black Sea. Dr. Ballard's Black Sea project seeks evidence of a great flood that may have struck the region thousands of years ago.
While those discoveries have captured the imagination of the public, Dr. Ballard believes his most important discoveries were of hydrothermal vents and "black smokers" in the Galapagos Rift and East Pacific Rise in 1977 and 1979 along with their exotic life forms living off the energy of the Earth through a process now called chemosynthesis.
In addition to being a National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence and a Commissioner of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, Dr. Ballard is the President of the Ocean Exploration Center (OEC) at Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut.
Robert Ballard was born on June 30, 1942 in Wichita Kansas, but moved to California at a very young age and grew up exploring the shore in San Diego. Dr. Ballard has a PhD. in marine geology and geophysics from the University of Rhode Island. He spent 30 years at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution where he helped develop telecommunications technology to create "tele-presence" for his JASON Project which allows hundreds of thousands of children to accompany him from afar on undersea explorations around the globe each year. In 2001, he returned to the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island where he is presently a tenured Professor of Oceanography and Director of the Center for Ocean Exploration.
Dr. Ballard has twenty-one honorary degrees and six military awards. He was also a Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, serving in the Navy from 1967 to 1997. He received the National Geographic Society's prestigious Hubbard Medal in 1966 for "extraordinary accomplishments in coaxing secrets from the world's oceans and engaging students in the wonder of science." Dr. Ballard has published numerous books, scientific papers and a dozen articles on National Geographic magazine. Dr. Ballard also has been featured in several National Geographic television programs, including the record-breaking "Secrets of the Titanic."
His 1997 best-selling book, Lost Liners, tells the story of the great transatlantic liners through memorable wrecks he has visited. Dr. Ballard was also a special advisor on Steven Spielberg's futuristic Sea Quest, DSV television show.
An explorer, discoverer, historian, Dr. Ballard's fascinating journeys can teach us a great deal about our past, and they have encouraged others to take tremendous strides in the survey of the undiscovered mysteries of the deep sea.
Are you ready for an unforgettable recounting of some of the great maritime history stories you've ever heard? Join us for a very special, annual fundraising celebration-- bring a friend, and post this note to your own social media networks!
Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear one of the world's great explorers present his life's work in a setting sure to compliment a maritime theme. Special menu! Under the guidance of Jo Anne O'Neil, students from Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School will serve as our sous-chefs for a truly innovative interpretation of the menus of Georges-Auguste Escoffier, who created the menus served on the Titanic.
Ticket price: $125 members, $150 non-members. Call and order yours, today. See you here on the 2nd of May at 6:00 p.m.
Special Guest: Dr. Robert Ballard, Oceanographer, Historian, Explorer
Time: Cocktails and Hors d'oeuvres, 6:00 p.m. ~ presentation 7:00 p.m.
Where: Marine Museum at Fall River, MA, 70 Water Street 02721
Date: Friday, May 2, 2014
C O N T A C T:
On the web: marinemuseumatfr.org
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarineMuseumFallRiver
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Phone: 508 674 3533 for details
eMail: [email protected]
Time:
6:00-10:00 pm Fri, May 2, 2014
Venue:
70 Water Street, Fall Rive, MA 02721
Contact: