This is a picture of all the students at the Nautilus Live program. They were able to ask researchers on the boat many questions, including what their living situation is like, and if they have found any new species during their expedition.
This week started off with a fun day filled with celebration on the Fourth of July. It was the last day that my sister and Mom were in town, and we came back to Santa Barbara and spent the day lounging on the beach and exploring the downtown area of Santa Barbara. We then went to the main beach in Santa Barbara and watched some fireworks. Overall, it was a good day and I was sad to watch them go that evening.
This is a picture of the class watching Scott fish for plankton. The procedure is pretty standard but it was cool to me that it only took about five minutes to collect some plankton! We took it back to the lab to look at it under a microscope and try to figure out what kind of plankton it is.
The next couple days were filled with lots of programs and activities. Tuesday I helped with a Nautilus Live program where students were able to watch and communicate with people on a boat that is in the Santa Barbara Channel right now. It was really interesting to talk to some of the researchers and see what they do for a living. Wednesday I went to Goleta Pier with Scott to help him teach a group of students about plankton. We used a net with a cod end attached to it to catch the plankton. The students are learning about plankton in the class they are taking, so it was really nice for them to be able to go out into the field and actually see how scientists study plankton. It was a very educational experience because I didn’t really know anything about plankton until Wednesday morning.
We had several other programs come in throughout the week, one of which was an algebra camp for high schoolers. We had them for four hours, which is a pretty good chunk of time. We divided them up into four groups and rotated through four activities: a Stray Student Stroll, a bluff walk, the REEF, and a talk about the water system and filter house on campus. Stray Student Stroll is a tour of campus and during a bluff walk, we explore and teach the kids about things such as the lagoon right next to the REEF, the invasive ice plant on the bluffs, and MPAs. I spent all four hours in the REEF, and I actually got to lead two of the rotations. Normally a paid intern leads and I help out, but I had the opportunity to teach the kids myself. It was a lot of fun and made me realize just how much I have learned about marine life and about how to teach kids.
This is a picture of me, Nora, and Alexa yesterday afternoon. I spent my last weekend in town with them and we went into a cute little hat store and found some marine biology related hats. It was a blast!
Throughout the week I also worked on my species I.D. cards, which are cards with each animal in the REEF. We have to know the common name, scientific name, their range and distribution, their diet, and one super cool fact about the animal. Every week we learn a new phylum, and we just finished up the echinoderm phylum. It’s really cool to not only be able to touch and learn first hand about the animals, but to also read about them and understand where they live and certain features about them that make them so special.
This week was super busy and a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to next week!
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