By Naomi, Ashley, and Jesse
The Terrific Trifecta
We’ve had plenty of lectures throughout the program. But none quite like this.
Today’s lecture was more of a discussion. The conversation members? Ray Troll, an astounding marine artist, Dr. Kirk Johnson, the director of THE Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History, Dr. Milton Love, an inspiring ichthyologist, and the Salish Sea Sciences team.
After asking a few questions, we found that it was much more fun to sit back and listen to the three talk and catch up. As the buddies filled each other in, they provided us insight on various topics, from the malacosteus niger’s dislocated jaw to empty pandemic museum exhibits.
Ray Troll vs. Anders
At one point, an artifact battle took place as each scientist tried to show us an even more impressive replica or skull! We have to say, Anders might have won the whole thing with his paper mache walrus head.
Watching the three scientific celebrities discourse this way is not something you get to be a part of every day. This is just one of the many amazing opportunities we have experienced over the past four weeks.
Deep Down Discoveries
As our conversation with the three titans came to a close, Megan Cook, a Manager of Education Partnerships and Programs at OET, joined our Zoom call.
Megan mesmerized us with her octopus-covered whale skeleton and colorful underwater mapping diagrams. After explaining the motivation behind marine discoveries, Megan discussed all the different ways that OET uses underwater ROVs to explore and discover on the ocean floor.
Mapping the Ocean Floor
Not only can the giant ROVs collect samples of different underwater organisms, but every expedition is live-streamed on Nautilus Live’s website!
Inside look at OET’s ROV
Matching one of the program’s main themes of discovering the many marine biology paths, Megan showed us the variety of people involved in making these expeditions possible. When these positions are combined, they make one big dream team that can accomplish amazing things!
ROV captures octopus brood around a whale carcass
Plentiful Poster Planning
In between the wonderful conversations we had with these knowledgeable guests, we were constantly working on our individual projects, specifically, our posters! With the majority of our research done and the poster session occurring tomorrow night, it was time to work on the public engagement step and share our results. It was crunch time!
Although this task may seem deceptively simple, the formatting and organizing practically fried our brains. We were able to collect loads of data, but if we didn’t present it in a clear manner, then hours of grueling research and analysis would go to waste. The task of trying to fit a research paper’s worth of information onto a single Google slide might have been the biggest challenge of the whole program. 😉
Despite the obstacles that we faced, the Salish team was able to pull through and design aesthetically pleasing posters. Tomorrow at 5:00 pm will be the true test as we will finally share our projects with the public. We can’t wait to see what our guests have to say!