Ashbury College - Day 5

This morning the students visited the St. Andrews Bird Banding Station which is located on the Huntsman campus, and run by the Director of Education.  The students were able to see some of the birds that were captured and how they are banded.  The bander were mentioning the birds are moulting their feathers and putting on fat in preparation for their migration south and the students were shown evidence of these actions on the birds.

Then it was into the lab for a bell ringer quiz on the information the students have been learning all week.  Good luck!  After the quiz the students conducted an experiment to determine how temperature effects the feeding rate of barnacles.

After a yummy lunch at Anderson House the students came back to the lab to complete the independent experiments they developed themselves.  There were some very interesting labs!

This evening the students will be boarding the big red bus to head back to Ottawa.  We wish you luck in the new school year and hope to see you all again in the future!

Visiting the St. Andrews Bird Banding Station on campus.

Weighing the bird before putting on the band.

Bell ringer quiz!

Counting barnacle cirri extensions.

Lunch overlooking Passamaquoddy Bay.

The independent labs begin.

Barnacles feeding...cool!

Ashbury College - Day 4

This morning we headed to Green's Point for the students to conduct a zonation lab.  While out there they also had a chance to check out the lighthouse and view seabirds and seals.

After lunch the students started their kite graphs and then went to the theatre to see the pictures they had taken for their one word photo essay.  There was some pretty interesting interpretations on the words they were given.  You can see some of the pictures on our facebook page.

Currently, the students are listening to a presentation on eutrophication given by Dr. Jim Staples from Western University who is here with a field course.  Thank you to Dr. Staples for his interesting and thought provoking presentation!

This evening the group is headed out on the town for supper and then out whale watching with Quoddy Link Marine.  Good luck!    

Zonation lab at Green's Point.

A dogwinkle eating a periwinkle.

Measuring the elevation.

Reflecting and having a bit of quiet time at Green's Point.

#unity at the lighthouse

Ms. Wall has the best bus teaching skills!

Tangled transect line = boo. 

Presentation by Dr. Jim Staples from Western University.

Young Explorers - Ocean Appreciation

Today our theme for the Young Explorers program was ocean appreciation.  Check out the pictures below to see some of the fun activities we did throughout the day.

Looking for animals on the beach.

We found some clams worms...they bite!

Watching the silverside fish being feed.

A sea star eating a periwinkle in the touch tank.

Making a porpoise craft.

Ocean animals and a diver!

Observing sea stars and rock crabs at the touch tank.

Whoa! We found a sea star with a mutation!

Making a touch tank field guide.

Ashbury College - Day 2

Today we struck out nice and early to catch the ferry to Grand Manan.  The first part of the trip was very foggy but then the fog lifted just in time for us to see the beautiful island on the horizon.  We docked and then drove to the other end of the island to board the Day's Catch to go out further into the Bay of Fundy to look for whales and seabirds.  We had a fantastic day viewing three of the four species of baleen whales that visit the bay: fin, humpback, and north atlantic right whale.  We also saw porpoises, seals, phalaropes, shearwaters, guillemots, and puffins.  We spent time with a number of humpback whales and saw many of their flukes before they dived.  These pictures can be compared to a database of fluke pictures to identify the whales as each humpback has an individual pattern on their flukes.  As we were heading back to the wharf we came across a lone north atlantic right whale flapping its flipper up in the air.  It was a wonderful sight as these whales number less than 500.

Currently we are on the ferry and the students are plotting their whale sightings versus the shipping lanes and the current conservation area.  They are pulling the information they have learned the past two days together.  It is a great sight!

Fog!

A film crew on board shooting a documentary.

Grand Manan is in sight!

Taking GPS data.

Humpback!

Humpback dorsal fin.

We got coated in whale breath...stinky!

Gorgeous!

The right whale!!

The Day's Catch.

At the GMWSRS museum.

A dolphin skeleton.

Working on the ferry.

Mr. Greig discussing conservation area.   

Ashbury College - Day 1

Early this morning we greeted the Ashbury College students that arrived last night from Ottawa.  We packed up our boots and boarded the bus for the short drive through town to Indian Point.  Here in the foggy intertidal zone we looked for animals under rocks and seaweed.  We found a great diversity of creatures such as sea stars, urchins, rock gunnel fish, and finally the elusive sponge.  

As the tide pushed us back to shore the students studied plankton in the lab and went aboard our research vessel, the Fundy Spray.  While on the Fundy Spray the students counted animals collected from the bottom of the bay, gathered data using a secchi disk and salinometer, and had a tasty snack of fresh scallop.  

The students are currently on a tour of the aquarium and this evening they will have a presentation from Danielle Dion on the whales that visit the Bay of Fundy in preparation for our whale watching trip tomorrow.

Foggy at Indian Point.

Searching for animals in the intertidal zone.

A beautiful terebellid worm!

They finally found sponge!!

Lots of great finds ready to back to the lab to study.

Copepods from the plankton sample collected today.

Learning about the base of the marine 

food chain in the plankton lab.

Collecting from the subtidal zone using the scallop drag.

Found a brittle star in the collection. 

Taking the salinity and temperature readings.

Starting their aquarium tour with a video of the tides.

Touch Tank Video

This spring students from Toronto Waldorf School took an underwater video in the touch tank while on campus for a marine biology field course.  The movement of the sea stars, urchins, and periwinkles is amazing!  Thank you so much to the students and their teachers for making and sharing this eye opening video!  

Facebook

The Huntsman Education Department now has a facebook page!  'Like' us here.

Young Explorers - Lobster Day

Today the theme for the Young Explorer program at the aquarium was lobsters.  We had the chance to observe live lobsters and their arthropod relatives, such as hermit crabs, green crabs, and barnacles.  Below are some pictures from our fun day.

Lobster observations...

...including the lovely Lily!

Lobster show and tell.

The leftovers from Juniors moult...she ate the rest of the shell!

Checking out the BIG lobster.

Making a hermit crab craft...

...while hanging out with hermit crabs.

Playing Lobster Claw!

Viewing barnacle food, aka plankton.

Making a barnacle craft.

Arthropod bingo!

Looking for arthropods on the beach.

We found lots of green crabs and sideswimmers.

We got to see barnacles feeding!

Hard to believe but next week is the last Young Explorer program of the summer.  For more information and to find a registration form visit our website.