By: Emily, Tyra and Eric

Although the day started out cold and overcast, we ventured out to the Friday Harbor Labs with our field notebooks to observe and document our deep sea invertebrates. We gained further knowledge on taxonomy while also learning about the feeding strategies of different invertebrates. After a quick lunch at the dorm, we headed up to the science classroom to listen to an algae expert, Rebecca Guenther. There, we learned about how kelps and other seaweeds are named. Soon after, we discovered the beauty that is found in algae by creating works of art and pressing them onto special paper. We ended the day with a trip to the west side of the island and a sunset kayak tour led by naturalist Jason Gunter.

By: Lisa, Saymirah and Will

The day started by walking out the door with rubber boots and windbreakers. We traveled to the Friday Harbor UW Labs and embarked on a sea exploration on the Centennial. During the ride, we collected shrimp, sea anemones, starfish, and many other species of marine life using two types of troll nets. The first net we used was to collect larger sea life from 60 fathoms (360 feet) and the second was a smaller thinner net made of fine mesh to hold in the microscopic plankton. We arrived at the labs hours later to move the marine invertebrates to a more suitable habitat. We then retired to a grassy knoll to eat our bag lunches. After lunch we enjoyed a scientific diving demonstration by Kevin Turner and Tim, then strolled to meet our next instructor Alicia, who taught us about scientific illustrations. We then sketched the marine samples we collected. Dinner was pleasant with the company of Professors Emily Carrington and Ken Sebens, followed by a presentation about what they do (mussel ecomechanics and underwater ecology).

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Beautiful first day here with clear blue skies. The day opened with breakfast and orientation, then we went to the Whale Museum. After a late lunch there was a lesson about the scientific method and observation with Tim in the Spring Street International School science lab. A quick run through on documentary photography with Tom was followed by a couple of hours taking pictures in downtown Friday Harbor. After dinner with scientists Kevin and Autumn Turner, the day ended with Kevin giving a presentation on his work followed by some down time.

-Julie, Marcus and Matt