As we rounded the corner we saw three majestic white creatures. Two creatures were swimming in tandem and the youngest one appeared to be doing cartwheels in the water as if it knew that we were watching. We stood in awe watching the Beluga whales at the Georgia Aquarium.
Our expedition to the aquarium was an incredible segue to our upcoming adventure at Cape Eleuthera. Self-led tours of the various exhibits gave both teacher and student Argos the opportunity to connect with science outside of the classroom. We enjoyed the up-close encounters with some of the world’s most magnificent creatures.
Here are some of the thoughts from our Argos about their experiences at the Georgia Aquarium:
Elaine stated that she liked her experience with the sea urchins. She had the opportunity to touch the sea urchin under the guidance of one of the workers. In making her observations she was quite surprised to find a hard skeleton underneath the pointy spines.
Daniel was fascinated by the jellyfish. He observed that the jellyfish were always in close proximity to each other yet they never became entangled. This observation led to questions relating to tactile or sensory responses in jellyfish.
Adam, one of our teacher Argos, stated that visiting the aquarium reminded him of his fond memories of the field trips he took as a child. He stated that field trips or expeditions like this one give students the opportunity to actually see some of the things that we talk about in the classroom.
After our visit to the aquarium we had a chance to go to CNN where we meet with Lori Daniel. Lori is a producer at CNN who was involved in some past JASON’s expeditions. Lori gave us a grand behind-the-scenes tour of CNN. We witnessed emerging events across the world before they were being reported. Some Argos had the opportunity to view a live broadcast of HLN’s The Daily Share with anchorwoman Melissa Knowles. Argo Dylan’s highlight experience was his photo op with Melissa. Teacher Argo Bernie expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to view some historical footage from the early years of JASON .
Our STEM challenge for the day was to identify any research, career, or activities that involve the STEM components. STEM careers include Marine Biologist, Aquarium Curator, Zoologist, Taxonomist, and Aquarist. Our most interesting career is the Aquarist. Aquarists investigate how to breed different species in captivity to populate exhibits, create and maintain aquariums, prepare food and vitamins for aquatic organisms, and stimulate animals by creating species specific toys and games. Another interesting career is the Taxonomist. Taxonomist are scientists who classify and catalog organisms. Taxonomist used dichotomous keys and field guides to classify and catalog more than 500 species of fish in Lake Malawi in Africa according to the River Scout exhibit.