Spectacular Spring Science Investigations!

We have been busy the last two weeks learning about land and marine invertebrates.  We couldn't cover them all so we picked a few to study...

We learned about spiders, their anatomy, form and function and a few spiders in Oregon that are poisonous. 

The sunshine had finally arrived so it was time to head outside.  What could be better than to go on a spider hunt!  In order to study spider behavior we first had to find them.  We drew sketches of what we saw, analyzed the types of webs, caught bugs and studied spider behavior when bugs got into their webs.  The kids discovered that certain bugs that were black and gave off an "odor" (millipedes and beetles) seemed to be left alone.  The spiders just weren't interested!  Eventually, they worked themselves free from the web.  Sometimes science doesn't always show us the results we expect to see.  Hey, THAT'S SCIENCE!

 

Another scientific investigation involved the study of Purple Shore Crabs brought into the classroom.  There were a lot of things we knew about crabs and some things we wondered about.  We came up with one question to test: do big Purple Shore Crab move faster for cover than little Purple Shore Crab?  It was time to investigate!  Stay tuned for the results...

Each student was assigned a Purple Shore Crab to observe.  They named their crab, measured it's size, drew sketches of it and watched it's behavior.  They were shown proper techniques for handling and holding their little friend.  A few crab sat and blew bubbles...  They also learned about a common seaweed found along the Pacific Coast called Bladderwrack. 

On May 16th, our class went on an all-day field experience to the Newport Bayfront.  Our first stop was to the Abbey Street Pier where the students tested their crabbing luck.  But what bait would be the best to use to catch the most crab?  We had to do another test!  We had four different kinds of bait: mink, chicken, shad, and black rockfish.  We put one kind of bait into each crab ring and dropped them into Yaquina Bay.  We let them soak as we continued our Bayfront experience. 

Our next stop was Port Dock 1 where our Bayfront Quest began.  There we talked about our bachelor group of California Sea Lions.  Mrs. D. had a hard time giving information and directions over the loud barking from the sea lions!

Midway through the Quest, we stopped at Port Dock 5.  There we put on our lifejackets and talked about the importance of wearing lifejackets around the water.  Next, we headed down the docks to visit Kinder the commercial fisherman.  We met him on his boat "Last Baron" and he shared what he does as a commercial crabber, the gear he uses, and some large, beautiful Dungeness Crab he caught.  That day, he was switching over his gear for black cod fishing.  Thank you, and good luck fishing, Kinder!

The Quest was a wonderful experience!  It took us along Newport's Historic Bayfront, along the Fishermen's Memorial Walk and ending at Port Dock 7.  I was wondering how our crab rings were doing...

When we arrived back at the Abbey Street Pier, our bus driver, Lloyd, informed us that when he was checking the pots one was completely EMPTY!  The shad bait was gone!  Best guess... a hungry California Sea Lion worked it free and ate it.  So when we were on our Quest, he rebaited it with some leftover black rockfish. 

Time to have lunch on the Abbey Street Pier.  Then pull the crab rings... HEAVE HO!

The crab ring with the most crab was... the MINK BAIT!

We talked about the crab we caught (sorry, no "keepers"), packed up the crab rings and headed down to the Embarcadero.  Time to put our lifejackets on again and head down to the docks.  On "D" dock, we met Captain Julia Miller of the conservation and education sailing vessel "Rowena."  She is sailing on a 6,500 mile teaching and research expedition from Seattle, Washington to the island nation of Vanuatu in the South Pacific.  In Newport for a short period of time, she was happy to meet with our group and talk about how she reuses and recycles materials and encouraged everyone to practice doing this to reduce waste.  She also gave us a tour of her beautiful vessel.  Thank you, Capt. Julia, and may you have calm, safe seas on your journey!  You can follow Capt. Julia's journey on "Rowena" at www.liveocean.org. 

As we headed up the dock, we saw Captain Jack Craven on the "Crackerjack" and stopped over for a short visit.  Capt. Jack is the owner of Yaquina Bay Charters and runs the "Crackerjack."  If you are looking for a great fishing trip, see Capt. Jack.  He will take care of you!

What a WONDERFUL day!  And what a special field experience it was!

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Randy Druba at Harry's Bait and Tackle: donated the use of 4 crab rings and additional crabbing gear

Tracy Crews at Hatfield Marine Science Center:  the use of 9 lifejackets

Newport Marina and Charters:  the use of 5 lifejackets

Herb Smith:  the use of 3 lifejackets
Spring Howard:  for letting me use her camera when mine broke early in the field trip! 

AND THANK YOU CHAPERONES FOR MAKING THIS A GREAT, MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE FOR THE KIDS!

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DATES TO REMEMBER:

May 26th -- Spring Fling 5:30 p.m.

May 30th -- No School (Memorial Day)

June 10th -- Last Day of School