The JOIDES Resolution is an oceangoing research vessel that explores the geology below the seafloor by drilling core samples and collecting oceanographic measurements. Visitors to its website can take a virtual tour of the ship and read its blog. Educators may appreciate the many classroom activities available, including lesson plans, digital interactives (some of which require Flash), and posters on topics such as plate tectonics and microbiology. These resources cover grade levels from kindergarten through undergraduate, and lesson plans specify the National Science Education Content and Next Generation Science Standards they correspond with. Part of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, the JOIDES Resolution is named after the eighteenth century HMS Resolution famously commanded by Captain James Cook, with JOIDES being the acronym for the Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling, "the original partnership of universities that sought to explore the geology beneath the ocean floor." The ship's outreach and education department is part of the International Ocean Discovery Program at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.