Hello and welcome back for week 2 in Tybee. This week I came in on Sunday and took Friday off. I spent more time in sea camp with a group of 9 to 11 year olds. I also spent time shadowing our educators in the centers gallery where I learned a plethora of knowledge about sea turtles. Our gallery schedule operates in 30 minute stations where each person rotates between them.
On Monday I was on sea camp for invertebrate day. We taught the campers about what 
characteristics make an invertebrate and went through our slideshow. We then went in the gallery and did a scavenger hunt before having time in the touch tanks. On the beach we spent time looking in the jetties (big rocks in a line on our beach with a vast ecosystem) for different kinds of invertebrates and animal life. The campers found a pufferfish that is now a part of our gallery. We also helped guide the campers through a partner squid dissection where they learned about the pen, ink, mantle, eyes, and gills of the squid.
On Tuesday I was also on sea camp for endangered species day. We taught the campers about whales for the first half of the day. We used the whale slideshow to teach about the different sounds whales make and their purposes. They also learned how inorganic sounds can pollute the ocean. Campers played a whale match up game where the objective was to match up a specific whale to a drawing of its outline. The campers learned how each whale is unique and have identifying features. For the second half of the day we taught the campers about our sea turtles. They were able to visit with our two loggerhead sea turtles.
On Wednesday I spent time upstairs in the gallery. For much of my time in the gallery I 
spent it at our sea turtle tanks where I was able to watch feedings and listen to our educators talk about and answer questions with our visitors. I learned that in our facility we will release our sea turtles at age 3 back into the wild because that is when they will have the highest chance of survival. I also learned about all the strict rules we have to follow in order to keep our permits for our turtles. I was then assigned to a Girl Scout tour where we searched for animals, seined in the ocean (read week one for explanation), and did a tour of the facility. At the end of the day I sat in on a turtle talk. 
Our turtle talks are a special program we offer where educators use a slideshow, their knowledge, and our facilities turtle objects to teach the public about sea turtles.
On Thursday I spent the first half of my day with sea camp. We took the kids on our weekly dolphin tour. On our tour we were able to see multiple young and baby dolphins swimming with their mothers and aunts. During our tour we also experienced Tybee’s vast amount of rain. The second half of the day I spent time in the gallery. Thursday was International Horeshoe Crab day so I spent time at our Horeshoe Crab station. I also spent time at our touch tank to ensure that visitors were handling our animals with care.
On Sunday I did gallery stations again. Instead of shadowing people I was on my own and 
used the knowledge I had previously learned. I spent time at all of our tanks.
In my free time I read some for my books I bought last week, listened to true crime podcasts, and spent even more time on the beach. I also went on tours with Zelda at the Savannah Bee Company on Wilmington Island, Charlie Ellis’s home of things he has collected from the ocean, and MiMis house with a large collection of animal parts. This week I also enjoyed a plethora of new foods, spent time at Thompson Hotel for a magazine exhibit, and visited the JW Marriott Hotel.
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