The word "CALYPSO" has several meanings, all of which have applications to the CALYPS3O Project: 


Calypso is the name of two of Jacque Cousteau's famous ships, which he used in studying the ocean and marine life.  He "coined" the term of SCUBA and invented the first equipment used in scuba diving.

In Greek Mythology, Calypso is the name of a sea nymph who fell in love with the warrior Odysseus, after he became ship-wrecked on her island paradise of Ogygia.  She held him hostage for seven years before she finally taught him the ways of the sea and gave him materials to build a new ship.  Our project is designed to capture the curiosity of our students while we teach them the ways of Earth's underwater world.

Calypso is the name of one of Saturn's smallest moons.  Moving and working in an underwater environment mimics the environment of space. NASA trains astronauts for specific tasks to be performed in space by having them practice those same tasks underwater.

 Calypso is a tiny, beautiful orchid.  It is purple, pink, and yellow.  It grows in cold and wet areas of the northern part of the United States, much like the place where our students perform their open water certification dives.

Calypso is also a kind lively music, originating in the West Indies. The song of Calypso, written by John Denver, expresses many of the things we teach in science: searching for answers to questions unknown, learning and growing from the places we visit, telling the stories of our experiences, understanding our place in the universe, and  sharing our "silent world" with the rest of the hearing world.

" Calypso "

To sail on a dream, on a crystal clear ocean, to ride on the crest of a wild raging storm,
To work in the service of life and a living, in search of the answers to questions unknown,
To be part of the movement, part of the growing, part of beginning to understand ...
Aye, Calypso, the places you've been to, things that you've shown us, the stories you tell!
Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit, the men who have served you so long and so well!

Like the dolphin who guides you, you bring us beside you,
To light up the darkness and show us the way. For though we are strangers in your silent world,
To live on the land, we must learn from the sea. To be true as the tide,
Free as a wind swell, joyful and loving in letting it be!
Aye, Calypso, the places you've been to, things that you've shown us, the stories you tell!
Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit! The men who have served you so long and so well. " ------ John Denver

This web page was last updated on June 8, 2007.