Field Trip

It gets hard to take field trips during the school year so this year I'm trying to squeeze some in during the summer. For a while now, I've been wanting to visit Horn Point Lab in Cambridge, MD. The best thing about this place is that it's free to visit and take a guided tour. Also, I worked there as a summer intern when I was in college. I wanted to show the kids where I worked and show them that science isn't all sitting in a lab. doing experiments at a bench. My two best science related jobs, ever, had me outside a good bit of the time, especially another internship I did at a University of MD research farm. I didn't even have to wear a shirt or shoes to work on most days!

Oceanography Lab

The first stop was the Oceanography Lab, where some scientists were getting ready to head to the Gulf of Mexico to measure the effect the giant oil spill has had on the Gulf. They've been there before, so they have a good baseline for conditions before the spill, and they can

One held vinegar, one water

compare results to see how much damage has been done the environment down there. Naturally, with any hands-on activity, Tyler is first in line to get his hands on. He and another little visitor were trying to figure out what those two buckets held, using their powers of observation and all their senses. I never thought Ty had much sense, but they figured it out.

Ty's just gotta touch that

My Happy Crew

They can equip these buoys with various sensors to measure conditions in Chesapeake Bay.  Tyler wanted to climb on one. He had to be satisfied with a look from the ground. Next stop, the hatchery.

Even way back when I worked at Horn Point, oysters were a main focus because their population is so threatened in the Bay by so many factors. Sturgeon, which in the 1600's and 1700's were everywhere, are now critically endangered. HPL is trying to restore the oysters and keep the Sturgeon from disappearing altogether. Sturgeon can get up to 14 feet long but you never see one that big, if you ever get to see any at all, at least in the wild. Tyler wanted to pet one, but was asked not to by our tour guide. We were told they have a big one in another tank but we weren't allowed to see it.

Ty exploring the old shells

New real estate for baby oysters

The oyster haychery was much bigger. One large tank can hold around 700 million oyster spat. Not all of them will live, but that's a lot of oysters. Once they're large enough, the spat are transferred into tanks where they can settle and attach to old oyster shells. Those shells are then transported to the bay and dumped overboard. There's a lot more involved, but I just don't have time to get into it all. It was pretty cool visited the lab and seeing it again. Not much has changed except for the size of the operation. Tyler was fascinated by the fact that you didn't need to wear a lab coat and work inside sterile walls to be a scientist. Maybe he'll decide to change his career from  Hobo to Biologist.

Being Sloths

We combined this field trip with a trip to Salisbury, to visit the small zoo they have there. Vicki and I spent a lot of time there since we went to college in Salisbury. It's not a big zoo, but it's also not in DC or Baltimore and that counts for a lot in my book. I hate traffic and crowds. Here's some pictures of our afternoon in Salisbury.

Do they ever look happy?

I have more but the baby is crying...