[2] The series aired on PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) and was created by the Bank Street College of Education in 1984[3] to teach middle-schoolers about science and mathematics in an interesting and interactive way, where every lesson related to real world applications.

[2] Four software modules are available that covered topics and skills in navigation and map reading, computer literacy and programming, the elements of ecosystems, and the natural environment of whales.

Captain Clement Tyler Granville, the owner of the sailboat Mimi is hired by scientist Anne Abrams and her colleague Ramon Rojas to make the census.

In these segments, an actor portraying one of the young people in the series, usually Ben Affleck, Mark Graham, or Mary Tanner, comes out of character and interviews a real, in many cases well-known, scientist about his or her work.

These scientists include oceanographer Sylvia Earle, geologist Kim Kastens, zoologist Katharine Payne, Greg Watson of the New Alchemy Institute, and physicist Ted Taylor.

[5] In addition, two actors in the series, Judy Pratt, a deaf student at Gallaudet University, and Peter Marston, a scientist at M.I.T., and real life owner of the Mimi, come out of character in interviews with Mary Tanner and Ben Affleck at their respective workplaces.

Both series emphasized equal opportunity in math and science with a diverse cast, including race, gender, and disability status,[12] and incorporated an instructional strategy wherein the fictionalized adventure would catch the interest of students for the initial part of the learning process.

This combination of strength and ability to operate in shallow waters allowed Mimi to be used both in the open sea and the extensive canal system in Europe at that time.

[citation needed] After the war the Mimi was sunk, and remained so until the 1960s when a Frenchman and his family bought it and converted it from a trawler to a sailboat with a ketch rig.

[11] Each school year, the Mimi sailed from New England to the Gulf of Mexico and back, stopping at pre-arranged ports of call to meet with students in grades 4 through 7, and their teachers.

A significant amount of damage occurred above the keel of the ship due to freshwater clams colonizing the wood while she was underwater, rendering restoration nearly impossible.