Boats and plankton and more...
Jackson says he loves fishing and boats, so today he should be happy. It was his first day of classes, and day one starts...
On a boat!
After breakfast, our group boarded
The Duke. It was early in the morning and we were off to trawl in Mobile Bay.
Before we even began, we even got to see and discuss Fort Gaines.
Fort Gaines has guarded the entrance to Mobile Bay for more than 150 years. It is one of the key sites in the famous Battle of Mobile Bay where Admiral Farragut shouted his now-famous order, “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” Pretty cool.
Then we began to trawl... causing a dolphin frenzy. Seriously, there were like more dolphins than I have ever seen and all around our boat.
While we were trying to collect and identify animals that inhabit the coastal waters, they were happy for the free meal.
After collecting some animals the kids had the opportunity to use various scientific equipment to observe obscure life forms and to measure their physical parameters while at sea!
Not a bad way to start a school day!
Quick stop at the Estuarium
We had some time before lunch, so we all went to the Estuary. It was a small but interesting museum that had not only exhibits but educational hands-on learning opportunities.
And of course it had fish too...
It's all about the plankton
That afternoon was a class and lab on plankton. They learned about the plants and animals that make up the plankton in the oceans and provide over 80% of the worlds' oxygen.
The kids broke into groups and made a plankton. The objective was for the plankton to sink as slowly as possible...
Then they collected more plankton.
The plankton they collected were isolated and put on slides:
They even got to view their plankton on large screen televisions through the use of video scopes as well as microscopes.
It was a busy day. And it was packed with learning and fun! I opted to go to sleep, while Jackson opted to go to a night beach trip and hang out with his new friends.
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