Field Trip to Mystic Aquarium

Last Monday, we visited the Mystic Aquarium to kick off our study of marine biology.  As usual, we saw some amazing sights!  Unfortunately, we didn't get pictures of two of my favorites sights: a penguin with a sprained ankle, with a bright blue cast/bandage on his leg.  As if penguins don't look funny enough when they walk, this one had a limp.  Poor little guy!

Another really cool thing we didn't get a picture of was an octopus' tentacles spread across the glass of his tank.  They usually spend most of their time hiding, but the tank was being cleaned, so I think that's why he was out.  We had an excellent view of all the suction cups on his tentacles.

Now for (some of) the pictures we did get:

We checked out the beluga whales first, as we always do because they're closest to the entrance.  They're in an outdoor habitat and the sun was shining on the tank glass, so the pictures didn't come out great.  The youngest one (9 yrs. old) was in a particularly playful mood that morning!  He had what looked like an indoor/outdoor rug and was swimming around with it in his mouth, dropping it and grabbing it again.

I love how they look like they're always smiling.

Almost missed this close-up!

Now you see it....

Now you don't.

The moray eels are so creepy, yet strangely intriguing...

There were a couple of loggerhead turtle hatchlings at the aquarium.  They will be released when they are ready back to the wild in North Carolina.

The last thing we did was check out the Titanic exhibit, which we have seen before, but this time we watched a video of  Dr. Robert Ballard's ongoing exploration of the ocean floor.  It was very interesting and we learned that the next expedition will be July 1-September 1, and will be streamed live online here.  We will definitely remember to watch that!

All in all, it was a great day!

This post is linked to The Homeschool Field Trip Blog Hop

Turtlegirl's Nature Center

I believe I've mentioned before that Turtlegirl has a veritable nature center here in our "all-purpose" room (sometimes called the piano room, sometimes the turtle room).  She has done this previous years, but this year's is the most extensive to date.  Here are some pictures:

One of the newt hatchlings

Some of the toadlets

This one's very shy.  He also has lots of algae - you can see it if you look closely.

The littlest turtle.

The new 40 gallon tank she bought with birthday money.

There are also adult newts, who laid eggs right after she brought them home.  That's where the newt hatchlings came from.  She also has a couple of wood frogs that metamorphosed from tadpoles she caught.  All will be released back to the wild.
Update: The toadlets were released to our garden today, June 7.

This post is linked to Science Sunday.

Aquatic microorganisms

So Turtlegirl is responsible for the rotating population of critters in our home.  A week or so ago, she got a couple of newts, who promptly laid some eggs, from a nearby pond .  Yesterday she asked to go back to the pond to collect some small aquatic animals to feed her newly hatched newts.  She collected some pond water and scooped up some muck from the bottom and brought it home.  Then this morning, she put some pond water on a slide and looked at it under the microscope (nothing fancy, we got it at Wal-Mart for about $160) and took a video of what she saw with her digital camera:

We're still trying to figure out just what it is - we're thinking it's some kind of freshwater microscopic crustacean, based on our preliminary research.

And this:

And:

Very cool, huh?  We were surprised she got such good results with the equipment we have! 

Marine Biology

Swimmah, 15, is very interested in marine biology.  Despite the fact that she has been less than enamored with the general biology class she has been taking, she wants to study marine bio.  So I found a used copy of an Introduction to Marine Biology textbook and have been working on putting together a course for her (and her sister).  I've been brainstorming ideas for projects and activities to bring the reading alive.  Certainly a trip to the aquarium will be included, but I also want her to do some more hands-on activities.  That means field trips to various kinds of beaches, such as sandy or rocky, etc.  Too bad we don't live closer to the coast - it's at least a one and half hour drive, depending on which beach we go to.

Here's what I have so far:

• adopt a sea turtle/other marine animal http://www.worldanimalfoundation.net/catalog/item/8198532/8893334.htm
• research a career in marine bio
• possible jobs
• required education level
• possible income
• research animals in specific ocean habitats, such as coral reef, kelp forest, open sea, etc.
• visit aquarium
• visit nature center at one of our state beaches
• visit various beach/coastlines: sandy, rocky, tide pools, etc.
• collect plankton and observe through microscope

I'll add other ideas as I think of them.