Ashbury College

It has been a busy week for us at the Huntsman!  We have 34 students and 4 staff from Ashbury College in Ottawa.  They will be studying all things from the Bay of Fundy this week. On Monday each group went aboard our boat the Fundy Spray to gather plankton and invertebrate samples, as well as check the water visibility, temperature and salinity.  They also studied plankton in the lab and toured the Discovery Centre. If that was not enough for one day, these students also travelled to Indian Point to play Phylum bingo in which they had to identify different animals from different phylum.  The winners received a yummy prize. 

On Tuesday  the students toured the ARC (Atlantic Reference Centre) and identified different invertebrates and in the afternoon it was off to capture and mark periwinkles for population identification. To cap off the day the students were taken to Indian Point to dig up some wonderful worms. Prizes were given for things such as longest worm and greatest diversity of worms found.

On Wednesday the students enjoyed some time in the Discovery Centre using their more artistic talents to create pictures for our Colour Spectrum Mural that you can see downstairs near the seal tank. Then it was on to the Dunn Science Theatre for a skyped in lecture on the water vascular system of the sea star given by Fred Whoriskey based at Dalhousie University. They ended the morning identifying the many different types of seaweed found commonly on the shores of the Bay of Fundy. The afternoon's adventures included a trip to Green's Point to study zonation.

Today the students headed off to Grand Manan in the hopes of doing some whale watching. While the wind on the water prevented them from going out, they did see a number of Fin Back Whales and porpoises on the ferry ride over. They then returned to the lab to study the effects of water temperature on barnacle feeding patterns.

Tomorrow will be their final day at the Huntsman and they will be spending it doing some very important independent lab work and looking, again for some elusive whales.

The students get ready to identify some seaweed!

Creating masterpieces at the Discovery Centre.

Using the touch tank animals as inspiration.

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Checking out the specimens in the Fundy Bay tank.

Exciting Happenings This Weekend

Exciting things are happening this Saturday at the Huntsman Discovery Center!  First off at 3pm there will be a presentation entitled MERMAIDS, MONSTERS, MYTHS and MAN by Keith Ronald.  This presentation, given by one of the Huntsman’s original co-founders, is presented in the Discovery Center’s Dunn Science Theatre.  It will delve deep into some of the ocean’s greatest mysteries.  Fun for all ages!!

Not enough entertainment for one day?  Well, stick around for a showing of the blockbuster The Hunger Games, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson.  If you have not seen this exciting movie yet you should definitely join us at 7pm, remember the world will be watching and so will we! Tickets are $5 per person or $15 for a family of 4.  There are two great reasons to check out the Huntsman Marine Science Center this weekend.  You want more reasons?  Well there are over a hundred of them just waiting for you to come visit them.  Check us out this weekend and next week while we continue our Ocean Appreciation theme.  For more information on these and other events visit http://huntsmanmarine.ca/events.php.

Ocean Appreciation Week Mini Course

Today was our last day for the the half day summer program, but my first day flying solo. This last week is Ocean Appreciation Week and with 12 eager students in attendance; we went out with a bang.

Today we had a scavenger hunt that took us all through the aquarium searching high and low for the answers to all kinds of questions. For example, do you know how many different coloured lobsters are at the Huntsman?  Our students today do! We also talked about the importance of conservation and played 3D Ocean Bingo, which taught us about the different ocean zones and what creatures live there.  Can you recognise this creature that lives in the deep sea?

 

I am pretty ferocious looking although I am not a large fish. I can live at a depth of 75 to 1500 meters! My scientific name is Chauliodus sloani and I live in the Twilight Zone.  Who am I?

answer: Viper Fish

Whale and Seal Week Full Day Course

This was my last day before I go on maternity leave and the students attending today’s whale and seal program made it a wonderful day!  We had lots of fun learning about the harbour seals that live at the aquarium and also some of the different whales that visit the Bay of Fundy, such as right whales and humpbacks.  Below are some pictures of our activities throughout the day.  

Next Wednesday, August 22 (9:30am-12pm) is the last course of our summer program.  For more information or to register your child call (506) 529-1200 or email huntsman@huntsmanmarine.ca.

Watching Snorkel and Loki and learning how they are like us.

Having fun in the touch tank.

Making artwork for the ocean appreciation wall in the aquarium.

Life size right whale...awesome!

Putting together a humpback skeleton...now that is a cool puzzle!

Whale and Seal Week Mini-Course

Vicki and I had a great morning with the students who attended the whale and seal program at the aquarium today.  We played whale bingo, watched the seals to get a closer look at their anatomy (do they have a bellybutton?), played a harbour porpoise and herring game, watched the seal feeding, made artwork for the ocean appreciation mural that is on display in the aquarium, and visited the touch pool. 

Next Wednesday, August 22 (9:30am-12pm) and Saturday, August 25 (9:30am-3pm) we will be offering the last two courses of our summer program.  For more information or to register your child call (506) 529-1200 or email huntsman@huntsmanmarine.ca.

Observing the seals (wow, they can swim fast!).

Playing porpoise and herring.

The seals put on a great show for the students this morning!

Making artwork for the ocean appreciation mural.