Download MECA Minute Issue 5 - University of Georgia Marine Extension Service

MECA MINUTE
Marine Extension Service
Issue 5
The University of Georgia
February 1, 2009
Points of Interest:
•
Featured Creature
•
Big Plans for new
exhibits
•
Meet the Staff
Inside this issue:
Featured Creature
2
SEA Programs
2
Mommy & Me 2010
2
Big Plans for a new
exhibit
3
Meet the Staff: Anne
Lindsay Frick
4
Aquarium Season
Passes
4
Summer Camp
Sessions
4
Are there budding marine biologists in your
family? Are you looking for memorable
hands-on, feet-in day camps for kids or
grandkids? Does the combination of sun,
salt, mud and sand sound like a recipe for
fun? Join us for the team-oriented family
affair that we call the Summer Marine
Science Camp (SMSC) Program!
UGA MECA has been providing kids with
hands-on, feet-in summer marine science
experiences since 1993. The demand for
these popular and high-quality day programs
continues to grow each year. Summer Marine
Science Camps allow kids to grow up learning
about the Georgia coast. Ten different
sessions for kids aged 4-15 provide a range of
academically appropriate marine science
opportunities. All SMSC sessions emphasize
”doing science, not viewing science”—
interactive and experiential learning in
marine science and coastal ecology. Sessions
are held in June through August. Fees range
according to session focus and length. New in
2010 will be WOMEN IN MARINE SCIENCE
for ages 12-14, and the COASTAL
PHOTOGRAPHY, for ages 13-15.
All camp sessions are designed to offer a
continuum of experiences over a series of
summers and include field explorations and
live animals. Low student-adult ratios,
snacks (and lunch if hours permit), arts and
crafts, t-shirts, water bottles, and coastal
explorations are all included. Complete
session description and are available now at
www.marex.uga.edu/aquarium.
Downloadable registration forms will be
available online March 1.
Due to SMSC popularity and space
limitations, enrollments for all sessions are
determined by lottery on April 1 (except
Women In Marine Science, see
www.marex.uga.edu/aquarium for details).
To be included in lottery, mail or hand
deliver a registration form and accompanying
deposit, to the UGA Marine Extension
Service by 4:00 pm (EST) April 1, 2010.
Forms arriving after this date will be honored
on a first-come, first-served basis if space is
available. For more information about camp
fees, content, activities, registration, and
scholarship opportunities, please contact
Anne Lindsay Frick at 912-598-2355 or
[email protected]. Please visit page 4 of the
newsletter for a list of camps, dates, and
pricing.
www.marex.uga.edu/aquarium
Editors:
Karin Paquin
(Assistant Curator)
Bob Williams
(Associate Director)
Anne Lindsay Frick
(Marine Educator)
Stephanie Edgecomb
(Events Coordinator)
Writers:
Karin Paquin
(Assistant Curator)
Bob Williams
(Associate Director)
Photography:
Karin Paquin
The
Diamondback
terrapin is
listed as a
species of
concern in
Georgia due to
declining
populations.
MECA MINUTE
Page 2
Featured Creature: Diamondback Terrapin Turtle
Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys
terrapin), are the only turtles in North
America that spends their lives in
brackish water. These turtles get their
name because they have diamondshaped scutes or plates on their shell.
Their coloration ranges from brown to
grey to black depending on the
subspecies. Terrapins eat hard-shelled
prey items, such as aquatic snails,
crabs, and small bivalves (e.g.
mussels). As adults they can grow to 9
inches in length. Terrapins nest in the
upper marsh area. Predation by
raccoons often occurs during nesting
season. Hatchlings are at the greatest
risk of predation due to their small size
from raccoons, gulls, snakes, rats, and
crows. The protection of salt marsh
environments is crucial to this species survival.
Water pollution and erosion and coastal
development all affect nesting habitats for this
species. Currently the diamondback terrapin is
listed as a species of concern in Georgia due to
declining populations. Learn more about this
coastal reptile with a visit to the Aquarium.
Upcoming SEA Programs
February 6, 2010 - “What’s on your Plate?”
Time: 10AM-NOON
Ages: 8 and up
Cost: $10/person; $6/aquarium season
pass holder
February 2010 - “Georgia Jellies”
Time: 10AM-NOON
Ages: 8 and up
Cost: $10/person; $6/aquarium season
pass holder
March 20, 2010 - “Painting Snails”
Time: 10AM-NOON
Ages: 8 and up
Cost: $10/person; $6/aquarium season
pass holder
April 10, 2010 - “Gyotaku”
Time: 10AM-NOON
Ages: 5 and up
Cost: General Admission
Reservations required. Please call 912-5982335 to make yours today!
Enjoy a Tuesday or Thursday morning out with your toddler 1-4
years old at the Aquarium. Program includes story time, singing,
and one on one time with the animals.
Call 912-598-2496 or email [email protected]
to reserve your spot today!
www.marex.uga.edu/aquarium
MECA MINUTE
Page 3
BIG Plans for New Exhibits
UGA Marine Extension
Service Aquarium staff
have some big visions for
the future of the aquarium.
One of these includes new
exhibits which will
showcase ongoing research
in the coastal community.
UGA Shellfish Laboratory
has offered funding to
create a stage by stage
oyster restoration project in
the tank that currently
houses red drum, spotted
sea trout, and blue crabs.
This exhibit will also
include a touch screen
kiosk that will provide
videos, photographs, and
interactive games focused
on the importance of oyster
bed restoration. Other
exhibits will showcase
marine species not
currently on display and
highlight their importance
in the coastal environment.
The biggest expansion for
the Aquarium will require
new tanks, educational
materials, and operating
systems with funding a
state-of-the-art Kreisel
tank, capable of sustaining
comb jellies and jellyfish.
Visitors will be able to
watch as comb jellies
gracefully glide through the
water while illuminating
lights change from blue to
purple to pink .
Ctenophores as a species
are often misunderstood,
they are important locally
as a food source for many
marine animals and the
species of comb jellies most
commonly found here in
Georgia do not have
stinging cells.”
The second exhibit will be a
cylindrical tank with 360
degree views that will
showcase more delicate
animals like seahorses and
baby fish. The exhibits will
showcase and support
valuable educational
programs and materials
designed by the UGA MECA
education staff. Over the
next six months we will seek
funding for both new
exhibits.
The final exhibit in the
works is currently under
wraps, but will be located off
-site at a heavily trafficked
location. This exhibit will
welcome visitors to the
Savannah area, while
providing a calming
experience for those viewing
it. This exhibit which will
give onlookers 360 degree
views of the essence of the
Georgia coast. While
providing educational
materials on local marine
species and organizations
that support coastal
research and conservation.
UGA Marine
Extension
Service
Aquarium
staff have
some big
visions for
the future of
the aquarium.
A vision for the future of the UGA MECA Aquarium.
www.marex.uga.edu/aquarium
MECA MINUTE
Page 4
Meet the Staff: Anne Lindsey Frick
Anne is Georgia born and raised by biologists in
Athens. She graduated from UGA (Go Dawgs!) in
1987 with a BS in Zoology and from Clemson
University with a MS in Zoology in 1990. She has
worked in environmental education and informal
science for over 20 years. Anne has lived and
worked in Maine, Michigan, South Carolina, and
Georgia and has explored the US and Canada with
her family. She guided rafts on the Chattooga River
in college, traveled to Alaska on a motorcycle in
graduate school, and worked as a children‘s librarian
for her first “real” job. Anne moved to the Georgia
coast in 1993 and joined UGA MECA in 1997 after
teaching marine science for the University of South
Carolina-Beaufort, and directing the education
programs at the Savannah Science Museum.
At MECA, Anne teaches and collaborates with
educators and scientists. She leads programs in the
field, lab, and on the R/V Sea Dawg. Her favorite
field destination is nearby Wassaw Island. She
directs MECA’s summer camp program, and writes
grants to support her “side projects”, most of which
involve helping kids experience and develop personal
connections with the natural world. Anne loves
living and teaching on the coast, but also enjoys
camping trips to the piedmont and mountains. A walk
in the woods anywhere clears her head and helps her
create. Her son Ben and their two dogs walk with her
through the natural world and teach her daily. Ben has
the family’s naturalist eye that helps him see detail and
make connections and this, above all, creates for Anne
the fullest and most perfect circle.
Email Anne at [email protected]
Anne Lindsey Frick
2010 SUMMER CAMP SESSIONS
SESSION
FISH FRY
SEA SPRITES
SEA SQUIRTS
SEA CAMP 1
SEA CAMP 2
SALTY DAWGS
ESTUARY EXPLORERS
WOMEN IN MARINE SCIENCE
ISLAND SCIENTISTS
COASTAL PHOTOGRAPHY
AGE
4
5
6
7-8
7-8
9-10
11-12
12-14
13-15
13-15
FEE
$75
$135
$205
$230
$230
$275
$275
$255
$370
TBA
Deposit
$25
$25
$50
$50
$50
$50
$50
$50
$100
DATES
June 29-July 1
June 28-July 2
June 14-18
June 7-11
July 12-16
July 19-23
July 26-30
June 28-July 2
July 6-10
early August
www.marex.uga.edu/aquarium