Ocean Discovery - Millidgeville North

Grade 6 students from Millidgeville North were on campus the past two days as part of the Ocean Discovery Program.  The students had the opportunity to study plankton using microscopes, work with live marine invertebrates in the classification lab, and spend lunch with the animals in the touch tanks.

This group had the special benefit of being the first this spring to study live plankton samples that were collected from the bay this weekend.  Check out the cool video below.

Observing an arthropod.

Up close and personal with a hermit crab in the lab.

Fun at the touch tank.

Sea urchin are cool!

Learning to use the microscopes.

Studying plankton.

Live zooplankton at 40x magnification.

Ocean Discovery - SJDA

Today Grade 6 students from Sir James Dunn Academy joined us to participate in the Ocean Discovery Program.  While here the students played plankton bingo, completed a classification lab using live marine invertebrates, explored the intertidal zone, had lunch around the touch tank, conducted an experiment with sea stars and sea urchins, and had a look at salmon eggs and alevin using the microscopes.  It was a great day and I think we all especially enjoyed heading to the beach!

Observing a Placopecten magellanicus or scallop during the classification lab.

Beautiful Fragilaria in the plankton sample. 

Apparently the deer had a stroll on the beach this morning.

We found lots of sideswimmers in the intertidal zone.

Blue mussel attached to rock with its byssal threads.

Brittle stars in the touch tank.

Testing an urchin's flipping rate. 

Flexible sea star!

Wow! You can see the salmon alevin's heart beating!

SeaWords - Spring 2015

The latest edition of SeaWords, our newsletter for teachers and educators is posted online.

It is filled with interesting activities and content for your classroom, including:
- Long Term & Long Distance Huntsman Connections
- Pit News about two university field course beach finds
- Activity: Fish Shapes
- Sea Creature Facts: Lumpfish
- Summer field course info

Ocean Discovery - SSMS

This week we have welcomed to campus the Grade 6 students from St. Stephen Middle School as part of the Ocean Discovery Program.  The students had the opportunity to study plankton using microscopes, observe live animals such as rock crabs, hermit crabs and sand dollars while learning about classification, have lunch around the touch tank, and conduct experiments with sea stars and sea urchins.  Some of the students also were able to explore the intertidal zone.

Below are some pictures from the SSMS visits.

Finding the latin name of an Acadian hermit crab, Pagurus acadianus.

Playing plankton bingo.

One of the students even found a copepod with eggs. Cool!

Fun at the touch tank during lunch break.

Very exciting when one of the students found a clam on the beach.

Exploring the intertidal zone.

Timing the flipping rate of a sea urchin.

Acrobatic sea stars during the right-side up experiment.

March Video of the Month - salmon alevin

Last week the Young Explorers that attended our fish themed day camp had the opportunity to study Atlantic salmon eggs and alevins using the microscopes.

When the salmon first hatches from the egg it is called an alevin.  The yolk sac remains attached to the alevin while it continues to develop.  In the wild the alevin would stay in the gravel where it hatched until the yolk sac is absorbed.  Once the yolk sac is absorbed the salmon is than in the fry stage and swims out of the gravel into the stream or river. For more information on the life cycle of Atlantic salmon visit the Atlantic Salmon Federation website.

In this video the vein on the yolk sac is visible. Also, note the alevin moving its mouth and taking water in over its gills.

March Break - Fish Day

Today the Young Explorers started off Fish Day by having a tour around the aquarium to see all the different species of fish on display.  Then the students picked their favourite to study and observe.  The spotted wolffish were popular, as were the ocean pout and the lumpfish.

In the lab we had the chance to study salmon eggs, alevins, and skate eggs using the microscopes.  The students really enjoyed it and thought it was pretty cool that you could see the little salmon moving around inside the egg.  Looking through the microscopes was so fun we just had to get some animals from the touch tank to check out as well!

After lunch we helped the aquarium staff feed all the different fish tanks in the aquarium, including the pollock, cod, sculpins, mummichogs, and flounder.  We even had the chance to feed the animals in the touch tank.

To finish the day we went out to enjoy the beautiful sun and see what animals we could find living outside the aquarium.  We found deer trails and scat, a mouse trail and tunnel, a spot where a bird had been taken by possibly a fox, and lots of mallard ducks.

Observing the spotted wolffish.

Magnified salmon alevin and eyed egg.

Having fun using the microscopes.

Skate egg case (or mermaid's purse).

Getting ready to help feed the fish.

Watching the mummichogs eating.

Checking out the frozen beach.  

March Break - Shark Day

Today we started our Young Explorer day camp by observing the skates, a relative of sharks.  Then we watched the reptile show in the theatre, with turtles and a bearded dragon.  They were both pretty cool!

In the lab we studied shark teeth of all different shapes and then made some of our own.  We also had a chance to feel shark skin and look at it under the microscope.  We did a craft that simulates the feel of shark skin.

We had fun playing hide the ice crystal outside with the walruses against sharks.

Tomorrow is our last day of March Break camp and we will be studying fish, including real salmon and skate eggs.

Fluffy, the bearded dragon.

Phyllis, the turtle.

Having a look at snake skin using the microscope.

Snake skin magnified.

Shark!

Matching our friends teeth to a chart in the lab.

Making our own shark teeth.

Some of the teeth waiting to be made into necklaces.

Working on our shark skin craft.

One of the finished products. 

March Break - Whale Day

Today at the aquarium the Young Explorers were learning about whales and seals.  First we observed the seals and learned that they are mammals like us.  Then we learned there are two different kinds of whales: toothed and baleen. We used the microscopes to view copepods, a type of zooplankton that is eaten by right whales using their baleen.  We also made a humpback whale food chain.

We got to go behind the scenes today to watch the seal feeding.  Then we had a tour with one of the seal trainers and she showed us what the seals eat and how to clean the filters for their tanks.

Since it was a beautiful day we headed outside to make sea creature paintings and sculptures in the snow.  It was a great day!    

Tomorrow will be shark day and we have a special visitor that is bringing in some reptiles for us to see and touch!

Check out some pictures from our fun day.

Baleen

Porpoise and dolphin teeth.

Whale feeding frenzy!

Through the microscope, a copepod.

Humpback whale food chain.

Watching the seals having lunch.

Checking out behind the scenes.

Everything needs to be kept clean!

Weighing out herring for the seals supper.

Painting in the snow.

A beautiful jellyfish.

Seal sculpting.