Sharing Our Knowledge

One of the FORCES Lab’s favorite things about our research cruise is the ability to invite groups of young, bright students onto the ship to experience first-hand the science that we’ll be conducting. This is a really unique, one-in-a-lifetime experience for these lucky middle and high schoolers, and we’re thrilled that they get to not only explore a government research vessel, but delve into the exciting world of larval fish ecology!

An iPrep student checks out tiny larval fish on the microscope

For this year’s research cruise, we've scheduled three events to share our science with students and educators at each of our port stops. In Miami, 40 middle school students from iPreparatory Academy and their teacher, Nicole Rasmuson, boarded the ship just days before we set sail for Havana, Cuba. We provided background on why we study larval fish to begin with (did you know less than 1% of fish eggs actually survive to adulthood?), what kind of things we’d be doing on the cruise (Bongos! Neustons! Mocness!), then let them experience what life is like working in a plankton lab! Using microscopes, students sorted through tiny plankton, searching for any fish hiding there. The kids then tried their hand at larval fish taxonomy, looking up close at the tiny fish to find clues to what their identifications might be. Clues can be found in the baby fish’s body shape, pigmentation, and location and number of spines. Many were shocked to learn that the tiny (4-8mm) fish they were looking at would grow into huge adults, like tunas and mahi mahi!

ENS Pickens shows the students around the back deck, along
with their teacher extraordinaire, Ms. Rasmuson

The kids were also treated to an up-close and personal tour of the ship that would be our home away from home for the next few weeks. Ensign Chris Pickens served as tour guide, and taught the students all about the NOAA Corps and what it’s like to live on a ship for months at a time. The students got to explore the bridge, and even adjust the levers that steer the ship! The Foster has two Z-drives, which allow the officers to move her easily from side to side.

The kids find out what it's like to steer a ship by rotating the Z-drives on the bridge.
Can you spot the steering wheel?

We had a blast with iPrep – thanks for letting us share our microscopic world with you!

iPrep students and teachers pose with the FORCES Lab in front of the Foster

 Stay tuned for pictures from our next event in Cozumel, Mexico!