Seven students and three teachers (David Miller, Jon Prince and Boone Nicholson) left Thursday , February 3, for a four day and three night adventure in Marine Biology.  Our first class began less than a half hour after our arrival on the coast.  It took place at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, an extension of the Oregon State University.  This two hour class acquainted our students with invertebrate taxonomy.  They learned how to classify the various invertebrates according to form and function.  They also learned that most Echinoderms are penta-radial with spiny skin and that the

octopus is a highly evolved mollusk with the intelligence of a house cat! Students had a great time handling the many types of live invertebrates they have in the lab tanks. On Friday morning we geared up for six classes at the Marine Science Center, three in the morning and three in the afternoon.  The first class was entitled “Sounds in the Sea”.  The boys learned about the different sounds that marine animals make and how scientists can triangulate their

location by recording these sounds.  The second class followed up on our discussion of whales by having the students assemble the skeleton of a minke whale from skull to tail.  The third class of the morning was a squid dissection lab in which the boys were each able to discover the inner workings of this tasty cephalopod.

After a leisurely lunch, we went back to the lab to learn about

crustaceans.  The boys were able to handle many different kinds of

crustaceans, especially some of the marine crab species.  Next we went outdoors and took a walk on the estuary mud flats where the boys learned the art of “shrimp slurping”.  Using a tool that resembles a giant syringe the boys sucked ghost shrimp and polycheate worms out of the mud.  Some were better slurpers than others!   Our final class was a plankton lab. The students learned about the various kinds of zooplankton and phytoplankton that form the bottom of the oceanic food chain.  They were then able to make their own slides and study these tiny creatures under the many microscopes available to them in the lab. 

All seven boys were able to maintain their focus and a high level of intellectual curiosity through the entire six classes! That evening we recapped what we had learned and then prepared them for an afternoon of “tidal pooling” following our visit to the Newport Aquarium the following day.  Our visit to the aquarium was great fun for all of us.  We wandered in three groups throughout the extensive rooms filled with tanks containing a superb variety of sea creatures.  Everything from Basket Stars to sharks!  Outside we were all fascinated by the sea otter enclosure, the seal habitat, and the aquatic bird sanctuary.

After lunch, we went out to the beach and encountered perfect weather for exploring tide pools.  Most were in shorts and t-shirts as we poked around in pools of all shapes and sizes.  They “captured” all manner of star fish, crabs, sculpins, and mussels.  We saw many of the creatures that we had seen and learned about at the aquarium and the science center.  This activity lasted for over two hours and then we spent another hour playing frisbee on the sand.

The students were extremely well behaved, highly motivated, and

challenged intellectually throughout our four days on the Oregon coast.  They expressed their gratitude repeatedly for being able to have this unique opportunity.  Their reports back to the rest of the students have gotten many others interested in going on a trip of their own!   

David Miller - MBA teacher