The Riverview High School Aquascience Program is a robust program with dedicated staff and over 400 students learning and engaging in hands on science research and exploration. Our Stars to Starfish Interns, Marine Science Club, and collaborations with the community define our robust learning ecosystem.
Stars to Starfish Internship
The Stars to Starfish program enlivens the science curriculum, bringing to the classroom hands-on experiential learning. Students build personal knowledge and appreciation for the significance and importance of maintaining a healthy environment while maintaining delicate ecosystems in their own classrooms and school state-of-the-art AquaDome.
Their passion translates to inspiration as 5000 of Sarasota County’s elementary students journey through the AquaDome each year. Riverview High School’s science education program is unparalleled in its diversity of subjects to explore and the quality and rigor of the educational experience.
Click here to Meet our Current Interns!!
Marine Science Club
The Marine Club is an after school club that is dedicated to protecting, raising awareness, and having fun with the ocean and marine life. Membership is open to any Riverview High School student. Members of the club pay $10/ school year in dues and an additional $10 for a club shirt. The club meets weekly to:
- organize on campus outreach and events,
- plan attendance at community events that encourage responsible stewardship of our local Sarasota community
- enjoy guest talks from local scientists,
- trips to local research and management agencies and
- a fun, annual trip to Sea World to explore their education and research program!
Meet the Staff Behind the Program
Staff Backgrounds and Bios
Katrin Rudge, Director of Aquascience Program
Katrin Rudge is the founder and Director of the Aquascience Program at Riverview High School in Sarasota, Florida, where she has spent more than two decades developing innovative, hands-on marine science experiences for students.
Katrin earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland in 1988, where she had the opportunity to study with renowned shark researcher Dr. Eugenie Clark, whose work helped inspire Katrin’s lifelong fascination with sharks and marine science. She continued her graduate studies through the University of Maryland’s Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences (MEES) program, earning her Master of Science degree in 1992.
Her early professional experience included research at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), followed by the creation of Chesapeake Workshops Unlimited, where she coordinated scientific and technical workshops and conferences supporting the Chesapeake Bay Program. She moved to Sarasota in 2001 and began teaching at Riverview High School in 2004.
At Riverview, Katrin founded and developed the Aquascience Program, creating a multi-year pathway that combines classroom instruction, aquaculture, field experiences, peer teaching, community outreach, and authentic marine science. Central to the program is the Aquadome, Riverview’s outdoor aquaculture and marine science facility, where students work directly with living marine organisms and aquatic systems.
Katrin also helped develop the Stars to Starfish Program, which gives advanced Marine Science students the opportunity to become teachers and mentors themselves. Each year, thousands of elementary students visit Riverview High School for an immersive experience that combines a planetarium presentation with student-led exploration of the Aquadome. Riverview students teach younger learners about sharks, mangroves, coral reefs, aquaculture, estuaries, and other marine organisms while encouraging environmental stewardship and a deeper appreciation for Florida’s waterways.
Over the years, Katrin has developed partnerships with organizations including Mote Marine Laboratory, New College of Florida, the University of Florida, Sarasota Bay Watch, and Sarasota County Government. These collaborations have expanded opportunities for students to participate in field research, aquaculture, conservation, and community-based science.
Katrin continues to expand the Aquascience program through new curriculum, cross-curricular STEM experiences, student-led instruction, research partnerships, and outreach initiatives. Her goal is to build upon the Aquadome model as an experiential learning program that connects science, students, schools, and the community—and inspires the next generation to become knowledgeable stewards of our marine environment.
Awards:
Riverview Teacher of the Year, 2014
Sarasota County High School Teacher of the Year, 2014
Sarasota County Teacher of the Year, 2014
Florida TOY Finalist 2014
Gabriel Wasserman, Marine Science Teacher
Gabriel Wasserman is a life-long learner who is committed to create the next generation of people committed to scientific inquiry. As a born and raised Sarasota area resident, he has spent his lifetime enjoying the natural resources the community offers. He brings his robust strength of enthusiasm and compassion to the classroom offering students an enjoyable and meaningful learning experience with science. He is loved by his students for his compassion and investment in their successes. His wife and three children reside in Venice, where his three children attend his own alma mater, Pine View School. Active in the community, Gabriel is also a leader in an area Boy Scout Pack.
Frank Gangi, Aquaculture Facilities Manager
Frank earned an AA from State College of Florida and was a 1984 graduate of Riverview High School. He started working at Mote Marine Lab from 1986-1989, first working in the Aquarium and then moved over to the Laboratory involved with collections, maintaining the shark tank and getting to know some really good people while gaining hands on knowledge. Frank also took part as a research diver gathering data in the Bahamas on the Sand Tilefish, “Reproductive behavior and social organization in the sand tilefish, Malacanthus plumeri” under the direction of Dr. Eugenie Clark, Joan S. Rabin and Susan Holderman.
Frank started working at Marinco Bioassay Laboratory, Sarasota in 1992 – 2007, initially overseeing all facets of a growing toxicity lab. Once the lab relocated and expanded he took over as lead of the Aquaculture Department, designing all the systems needed to breed and maintain the indicator organisms used in WET (Whole Effluent Toxicity) testing.
In 2006, Frank partnered up and started a company called EcoAquatics also located in Sarasota, devoted to culturing and supplying of a species of mysid, Americamysis bahia, used extensively in research and as a live feed. This facility is still up and running and is currently in a stage of expansion after recently relocating.
In 2017, Frank went full circle and returned to Riverview High School accepting a job as Aquascience Facilities Manager overseeing the aquaculture program, establishing a clownfish breeding program used to insert funds back into the program, updating the Aquadome and basically trying to do my part in creating one of the top high school aquaculture programs in the nation.
Paige Taber, Biology Teacher
Paige Taber is a life-long learner who is committed to create the next generation of people committed to scientific inquiry. She currently teaches IB and AP Biology and spends her time being as involved as possible in the Marine Science program! She has a passion for Marine Science and takes part in many events including Marine Club, Aquadome maintenance, community building, and helping students. Paige is a Sarasota local and returned to her alma mater after she graduated with a Bachelor of Science and Nursing from the University of Florida and practiced as a nurse become becoming a science educator. She continues to learn and improve her craft, teaching students from 9th-12th grade and enjoys every second of it. Paige is a dedicated teacher who strives for the best for all her students and pushes them to achieve their dreams and attain success! Paige is especially passionate about animals and enjoys working with freshwater ecosystems, even including raising axolotls with her students and involving students in studying amphibian genetics.
Ashley Hernandez, Assistant Principal, Riverview High School
Ashley Hernandez and is one of the assistant principals at Riverview High School and takes charge over the Science Department. She was a former RHS teacher and is a proud Ram at heart! Ashley earned the Milken Educator Award in the 2021. She was just one among more than 60 educators nationwide who received the Award during the 2021-22 school year and was the first recipient from Sarasota County Schools since 2002! Ashley is an amazing assistant principal and can’t wait to see what the program has in store!
