By Gabrielle Walsh and Jacqueline Branch
Week four at the Boothbay Sea and Science Center (BSSC) was quite jam-packed. We learned about the Arctic and Antarctic, the indigenous people of the North, sea level rise, the carbon cycle, and how tides function. We started off strong with a discussion about the differences and similarities between the Arctic and Antarctic combined with multiple activities to support this discussion and learning. Our “budding scientists” learned about adaptation and how it relates to arctic creatures.With this knowledge they designed an adaptation and created their own creature. We went on a field trip to the Bowdoin College Arctic Museum and Schiller Coastal Studies Center (SCSC) on Tuesday with the Stay’s’ls (ages 9 – 17) and Wednesday with the Mizzens (ages 5 – 8). The Arctic Museum was a great resource for indigenous information, and the SCSC did a great job emphasizing the importance of caring for our environment. We are most grateful to GennyLeMoineCurator of the Arctic Museum and her team of Docents, Holly Parker Director of the SCSC, and to the many BSSC parents who drove and spent their day with us.
We were honored to have Dr. David Brooks speak to us about tides and their impact on coastal communities. Using water in an aquarium Dr. Brooks simulated wave action and with an excellent power point presentation helped us better understand the interaction between the Gulf of Maine and the greater Atlantic Ocean.
Also, during the week we learned about tides and sea level rise through station-based learning. Thursday was all about carbon. Both the Stay’s’ls and Mizzens loved the carbon cycle game … acting as a carbon atom traveling through each reservoir in the cycle. At each station, they collected a bead they put on a string that tracked which reservoir (i.e. atmosphere, surface ocean, land plants, etc.) they went to and how long they stayed there. In the end they turned their string of beads into bracelets and decorations for their water bottles. On Friday we attended Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences’ Open House where weparticipated in phytoplankton races, extracted strawberry DNAand, by doing, learned about ocean acidification. All around, it was a great week for experiencing a bit of everything from the atmosphere to the sediments in the depths of the ocean.
BSSC sailors had tons of fun earning and adding new beads to theirskill bracelets, sailing in Turnabouts, and rowing. Throughout the week theypracticed tying knots, tacking, andjibing,and gained a better understanding of points of sailand the parts of the sailboat. Launching arowboat, rowing around a mooring, and returning to the float earned lots of sailors their rowing bead.Overall, we had an amazing week, and we are looking forward to what comes in week five!