3rd Annual NOAA Science Camp Held in Seattle

the third annual NOAA Science Camp, an educational camp for middle school students designed to showcase NOAA science and researchers. Fifty students entering 7th or 8th grade in fall 2005 (49 students from 27 schools in the greater Seattle area, and 1 home-schooled student) participated in hands-on science activities designed to demonstrate techniques used by NOAA scientists to study fisheries, marine mammals, nautical charting, environmental assessment, diving, oceanography, and weather.

Activities were led by scientists from NOAA’s

• National Marine Fisheries Service (AFSC and Northwest Fisheries Science Center)
• Ocean Service (Office of Coast Survey and Office of Response and Restoration)
• Marine and Aviation Operations (NOAA Diving Center)
• Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory)
• National Weather Service (Seattle/Tacoma Forecasting Office)

Employees from the University of Washington’s Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean and Sea Grant Program, and independent contractors with NOAA were also involved in the development and implementation of science activities during the NOAA Science Camp.

The fisheries activities, led by Rebecca Reuter (AFSC) and Casey Ralston (NWFSC) involved a salmon survival game that helped campers understand not only why salmon naturally have a high mortality rate but also how human-placed obstacles can increase salmon mortality. After playing the game once, the campers were assigned stakeholder roles (i.e., fisheries manager, member of the business and fishing communities, Native American group, or biologist) in a salmon debate. In their roles, campers discussed how humans can help increase salmon survival by either removing an obstacle or making it easier for the salmon to pass a certain obstacle (e.g., decrease the number of fishing boats by decreasing the number of fishing permits), while addressing other needs of the biological and human communities. Campers also learned how to identify fish and created fish prints.

The marine mammal activities, led by Lisa Hiruki-Raring and Marcia Muto (AFSC), focused on three main areas of marine mammal research: feeding habits, telemetry, and individual identification. The campers learned that scientists study what marine mammals eat by examining their feces (scats) and identifying the bones and other hard parts that remain after the scat is washed through a series of sieves. Campers processed simulated scats made from pudding, used microscopes to examine fish bones and squid beaks, and used an online database to find information on different fish species.

To study the daily and seasonal movements of marine mammals, campers learned about the different instruments (radio tags, time-depth recorders, and satellite tags) used to collect information about marine mammals’ movements. Campers wore radio tags, used a radio receiver to listen for the frequencies of their fellow campers’ tags, and used the NMML web site to find information on the locations of satellite tags currently deployed on marine mammals. Campers learned that scientists identify individual humpback whales by the pigment patterns and marks on their tail flukes, and they used photos of humpback whale tail flukes from NMML’s photo catalog to identify pigment patterns, determine the types and locations of marks, and determine which photographs were of the same whale. Campers also toured the marine mammal skeletal museum, examined pinniped and cetacean bones and teeth, and viewed the walk-in freezer and the dermestid beetle colony where marine mammal bones are cleaned.

At the beginning of Science Camp, campers were introduced to an environmental scenario. Their task was to determine the source of a hypothetical “fish kill” in Puget Sound, quantify its potential effects on the ecosystem, and suggest action that should be taken to remedy the situation. Science activities during the week related to aspects of the scenario, which contributed to the campers’ understanding of how different branches of NOAA work together to gather information about environmental events. Campers assessed the potential impact of the fish kill on fish and marine mammals, examined the bathymetry in the area to see if a ship could have grounded, determined vessel movements in the area, tested the waters for contaminants, and determined potential point and non-point sources of pollution. Each group of campers was very creative in presenting their results and recommended response actions to their parents, NOAA scientists, and Science Camp staff on the last day of camp.

The success of the first 3 years of the NOAA Science Camp indicates that there is a high demand for this type of science education program. Because the program encompasses activities from several NOAA line offices, it provides a means for presenting a unified picture of NOAA as an agency. The Science Camp program fulfills several goals stated by NOAA’s Education Plan and fulfills NOAA’s cross-cutting priority of enhancing public outreach, education, and environmental literacy in one comprehensive program. As such, this program can serve as a model for other NOAA regional centers to create their own NOAA Science Camps to promote NOAA science in their local communities and to educate and inspire the next generation of scientists.

By Lisa Hiruki-Raring

AFSC Quarterly
Research Reports July-Sept 2005