From tank to table

This year 40 Grade 5 students at the Great Salt Bay Community School in Damariscotta participated in the Boothbay Sea and Science Center’s Exploring the Science of Seaweed Farming program. The students raised seaweed seedlings in a tank in their classroom. Those seedlings were later planted in the ocean and, after growing for several months, harvested. The students then used the kelp they grew in recipes.

They made a sea green salad, sea green stir fry, miso soup, omelets with sea greens, feta, and kale, and chocolate muffins with sea greens, literally from tank to table.

What did they think of their culinary efforts?

“It was delicious!”

From our parents

We loved the overnight on the Schooner Tyrone. Anytime this is a possibility, please make it available for the kids. It was such a wonderful opportunity. The highlight of the summer!

You were the best organized communicators of the three camps she went to last summer – thank you! She loved the data collecting and science portions, that felt really unique to your program.

KSL

My daughter enjoys BSSC very much. She likes swimming and especially science. She likes getting “jobs” on the boat. She really enjoyed this week’s movie about the 16 year old who sallied the world by herself.

I value the balance between time on the water and the educational component adding to their overall respect/perspective. The Olympics were also a huge hit this year!! A great balance between skills, education and good old fashioned summer camp fun!

Our child was super excited about the seaweed identification and that knowledge really presented when we kayaked out to spectacle island to camp and encountered many different types of seaweed. She loves the camp! Everything. One noticeable difference was that our child was able to identify the different types of seaweed on the coast and in the water while we went out kayaking.

Everything is fantastic! We really appreciate this stellar program and thank you for providing such wonderful enrichment and a unique experience for the students. Eleanor has been anticipating this program for months- having the time of her life.

BSSC’s thematic programming is one of its strongest components. All three of our campers (ages 5, 8, 13) were enthused by the topics and methods of exploration. They came home curious and eager to learn more ocean science related concepts.