Campobello Island - Ocean Discovery

For the past two days we had some local students from Campobello Island on campus for the Ocean Discovery Program.  Yesterday the students looked at plankton using the microscopes, had lunch around the touch tanks, completed a classification lab using local marine invertebrates, had a presentation on lobsters, and explored the intertidal zone.  The weather was fantastic!  It is funny to think the group had to reschedule just a few weeks ago because of a blizzard.  

This morning the students started the day doing a behaviour experiment with sea stars and sea urchins and then moved into the theatre to discuss the challenges of measuring biodiversity in the marine environment.  We finished the morning with one last visit to the touch tank and to say good morning to the seals.

Below are some pictures from the program.

Playing plankton bingo!

Drawing some of the plankton species viewed through the microscope.

The large sea star has its stomach extended...cool!

Watch out for the scallops...they shoot water!

Completing a classification activity.

How many eyes does a scallop have?

The students got up close with the hermit crabs.

Having an encounter with the half and half lobster.

Searching for life in the intertidal zone...

one of the students found a comb jelly!

Great day to explore!

Timing the flipping rate of sea stars and...

sea urchins.  Sea stars are faster.

Watching a video in the theatre on the Biodiversity Corridor.

Counting the number of different species in the pictures of the ocean floor.