Field Trips

School groups take part in Huntsman field courses for a number of reasons.  For most it is as an extension of their science class but for a few it is as a fun and exciting field trip.  For example, teachers from Eastview Secondary School from Barrie, Ontario bring a group of high school students to the Huntsman every other year.  The students come to have fun and learn about the marine environment, its organisms and to experience the local area.  They are a group of students who enjoy the outdoors so spending at least half of every day in the field suits them well.

Another example would be the group from Glenview Senior Public School in Toronto, Ontario.  These grade 8 students come to the Huntsman for a year-end trip.  While here they take part in Huntsman activities but also visit the Sunbury Shores Centre to do art, walk across a road only accessible at low tide to Minister’s Island for a history tour, and go cosmic bowling.

Huntsman field courses are flexible and can be adapted to meet the needs of a variety of groups.  If you are looking for a unique facility for a field trip, visit our website, www.huntsmanmarine.ca to see what we can offer you.

Swallowtail Lighthouse on Grand Manan

Making prints at Sunbury Shores Art and Nature Centre

Walking across the "road" to Ministers Island

Enjoying the bathhouse on Ministers Island

Tour Tuesday – Residences

When attending a Huntsman field course students stay on campus in our residences, Needler Hall and Anderson House.  Usually middle and high school students stay in Needler Hall, which is set up in a university style with three bunk beds per room.  Anderson House is home to the dining room that is shared by all groups on campus.  Everyone raves about the delicious meals that are delivered by the friendly kitchen staff, especially the yummy homemade soups and cookies!  From the dining room, you look out over the Algonquin golf course to Passamaquoddy Bay.   Attached to Anderson House is the newest residence, the Annex.  Occasionally students will stay in Anderson House and the Annex but these are usually reserved for university/adult groups.  The residences are found at the top of our campus, with the labs, aquarium and boat located down the hill on the lower campus. 

Entrance to Anderson House

Dining room at Anderson House

View from Anderson House dining room

Needler Hall

Needler Hall first floor

Room in Needler Hall

Student perspectives

What do students take away from Huntsman field courses?

“I knew tides existed, but not to this extreme.  Being a witness of the level changing was truly outstanding.”

“I think it was a very memorable field trip, with lots of different things to learn and carry with me the rest of my life.”

“This field trip made me think of all the different possibilities in science.”

“Learning and being taught it in a practical setting really enforced the information, and helped me to further understand it.”

“I’ve learned more this week than I feel I did in my entire biology course.”

Want to give your students an amazing hands-on marine biology experience?  Check out our website, www.huntsmanmarine.ca/html/education.html.   

Snow!

We just had our first big snow of the season Wednesday.  It reminded me of this time last year when we also were receiving our first bit of snow.  We were welcoming to campus our last group of the fall season; 14 New Brunswick teachers attending the Ecosystems, Habitats and the Diversity of Life Institute.  Luckily the teachers were prepared with their winter gear because it snowed on Saturday when they were out on our research vessel.  Despite the cold and snowy weather it was a great weekend with a fun group of teachers!

Are you a teacher interested in taking a Huntsman field course?  Check out our 2012 summer course...hopefully there won't be snow in July!  www.huntsmanmarine.ca/html/adult_teachers.html

A little snow didn't stop the fun!

Dogwinkle

The dogwinkle (Thais lapillus) is a small shelled animal that we find on local beaches and can also be found on the other side of the Atlantic.  It can vary in colour from white, to grey, to brownish, to orange.  They prey on other intertidal animals including blue mussels, periwinkles, and barnacles.  To feed on mussels or periwinkles the dogwinkle secretes an acid that softens the shell and then drills a circular hole into the shell using its radula, which is a structure similar to a chainsaw.  The dogwinkle can then suck out its meal.  Gross and cool all at the same time!  When exploring the intertidal zone we find their pinkish-yellow egg capsules that look similar to rice grains attached to the underside of rocks and seaweed.  After about 4 months crawling juveniles emerge. 

Dogwinkles on the beach

An orange dogwinkle

Drill hole in a blue mussel

Drill hole in a periwinkle

Dogwinkle eggs on the underside of an intertidal rock.

International Baccalaureate

The unique, hands-on field courses at the Huntsman appeal to a wide range of students and teachers.  Activities and field experiences can be modified to accommodate different grade levels, abilities and interests.  A good example of this is the field courses that have been developed for schools participating in The International Baccalaureate (IB) programme.

The IB programme involves a challenging curriculum that teaches students how to think critically and creatively in preparation for university and beyond.  The Huntsman has two schools, Saint John High School and Ashbury College that use our field and lab experiences as part of their rigorous IB Biology courses.  At the Huntsman a month’s work of “regular” class time can be condensed into an intensive five-day program. 

The following is a statement by an IB teacher relating why she brings her IB Biology class.    

“As a teacher for 20 years, I have gone to a number of outdoor educational centers in Ontario, but I return to Huntsman for my senior classes. I have consistently found the academic expectations of the Huntsman program to meet the standards required by The International Baccalaureate.” 

A Saint John High news item regarding their trip to the Huntsman,  www.sjhigh.ca/news.php?newsid=2656.

Want to see what we can offer your class?  Check out our website, www.huntsmanmarine.ca.

Fundy Discovery Aquarium

This past September the new Fundy Discovery Aquarium opened on the Huntsman campus.  Students attending fall field courses visited the new aquarium and checked out all the exciting features including:

·         two touch pools full of sea stars, crabs, scallops and skates,

·         our harbour seals Snorkel and Loki,

·         the Bay of Fundy fishes tank, including sturgeon, spiny dogfish, cod, salmon, and flounder,

·         blue, orange and jumbo lobsters,

·         the 220-seat theatre,

·         the new lab, and

·         the new schedule: open year round!

Want your name in the aquarium?  Those 18 years and younger can have their name added to our “Children’s Donor Wall” that is in the shape of a harbour seal.  For more information check out this link, www.huntsmanmarine.ca/html/kids_wall.html.

The new Fundy Discovery Aquarium

Invertebrate touch pool

An encounter with Snorkel.

Students enjoying the new theatre...

...and lab.

In awe of the sturgeon.

2012 Summer Courses

Want to have an amazing experience like no other?  Why not attend a summer field course at the Huntsman!  Or perhaps it could be an awesome Christmas gift for an aspiring marine biologist.  It’s never too early to book your summer in St. Andrews!

In 2012 we are offering two week-long field experiences:

·         Introduction to Marine Biology, July 9-13, for students 15-18 years old.

Learn about the Bay of Fundy marine environment and some of the animals that call it home, such as sea stars, seals, crabs, and worms.  If you are wild about the ocean this course is for you!

www.huntsmanmarine.ca/html/high_school.html

·         All Things Marine, July 16-20, for teachers and friends.

This fun new course offers connections between biology, art, history, culture, cooking and more.  What we catch and collect will be what we study, draw, print and even cook! 

www.huntsmanmarine.ca/html/adult_teachers.html

 

Teacher Perspectives

We have a number of dedicated teachers who bring their students to the Huntsman every year for a marine biology field course.  In their own words this is why they come:

“This program provides high school students with a rare opportunity to experience marine biology. It is the combination of hands-on learning that goes on in the laboratory, tide pools and beaches that makes this program so unique, because marine biology suddenly becomes meaningful.”

“The program at Huntsman promotes the doing of science. My students get excited and as a science educator, there can be nothing better.”

“We are willing to travel all the way from Ottawa to St. Andrews with our students, because of the high quality of the educational programs offered at Huntsman.”

Want to give your students an amazing hands-on marine biology experience?  Check out our website, www.huntsmanmarine.ca/html/education.html.

Lobsters

One of the marine animals that people associate the most with the Maritimes is the lobster (Homarus americanus).  While they are a tasty meal (dipped in melted butter!) they are also a very interesting animal that comes in a variety of colours and sizes, many of which can be found at the Huntsman’s Fundy Discovery Aquarium.  Recently, I read a fascinating book called The Secret Life of Lobsters by Trevor Corson.  I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in lobster biology or just lobsters in general.  

Lobster info:

·         Lobsters can be right or left handed depending on which side the crusher claw is on.

·         Lobsters can regenerate lost legs, claws and antennae but not eyes.

·         A commercial size lobster is about 7-8 years old.

·         A female needs to be soft (just moulted) to mate.

·         After moulting a lobster will consume some of its old shell to take in calcium to harden its new shell.

Junior - a juvenile on display during a presentation to students

Lily - one of our blue lobsters

Pumpkin - our spotted lobster

Caught during a fish trawl for one of our visiting schools...

...no, we can't keep them! :)

A rare "yellow" lobster...1 in 30 million.

After moulting the lobster has been nibbling away at its old exoskeleton (shell).

Notice the soft new leg growing.

New Schools in 2011

It is always exciting when we have a new school take part in a Huntsman field course!  We love to meet new teachers and students and build new relationships.  This year we had three new schools take part in field courses; Three Oaks Senior High School, from Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Selwyn House, from Westmount, Quebec and Earl of March Secondary School, from Kanata, Ontario.  It was wonderful to introduce these new groups to the Huntsman and the amazing marine habitat at our doorstep.  While on campus the students of Selwyn House, an all male school, chronicled their experience in a blog; check it out, http://selwyn-by-the-sea.blogspot.com/. 

Earl of March students learning about lobster traps.

Three Oaks students exploring the intertidal zone.

Tour Tuesday - Labs

When the incoming tide pushes the students out of the field we head to the lab to study the organisms collected.   On campus we have a number of teaching laboratories.  Each lab has work space for students, as well as a wet bench with running saltwater to hold the collection of animals being studied.  While in the lab we make use of the compound and dissecting microscopes, to have a closer look at plankton and echinoderms (sea stars and urchins).  The students also use the lab time to conduct behaviour experiments, such as testing the feeding rate of barnacles at different temperatures, the effect of light on arthropods, and the strength of echinoderm tube feet.  

   

                                            Studying plankton

                                            Behaviour experiments

                                                      Wet bench

                                        New lab in the aquarium