|
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
||||||||
|
Diverse Offering from USGS at 2006 Marine Quest in Florida
On April 22, coincident with Earth Day festivities, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute held their annual public open house, called "Marine Quest," at Bayboro Harbor in downtown St. Petersburg, Fla. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) participated in the event with a booth highlighting the many scientific activities taking place within USGS Florida Integrated Science Center offices throughout Florida. Eight USGS volunteers participated in the event by helping to design the activities, create the materials, and set up, take down, or staff the booth. These included Nancy Dewitt, Katie Frische, Chris Kellogg, Victor Levesque, Marci Marot, Stacy Merriweather, Ann Tihansky, and Laurinda Travers.
The USGS booth highlighted coastal hazards and research, water quality, biological resources, and geologic mapping. The day was windy, and assorted rock samples came in handy for holding down the many materials on display. Hands-on activities included a guessing game called "What Kind of Water Is It?" in which visitors could try their luck at identifying eight water samples by visual analysis alone. The water samples came from eight different sources, including a lake, a river (the Withlacoochee River), an estuary (Tampa Bay), a swimming pool, the tap, a retention pond, and rain. A short discussion before the guessing began gave hints at ways the water types might vary in appearance. It was surprising how many people found that they were likely to drink their swimming-pool water! Those who wanted to get more involved were encouraged to get their hands wet by pretending that they were scientists working underwater. They could then write or color on special paper in a large tub filled with water that simulated conditions shown in looping video footage of scientific divers recording information as they worked underwater in a coral-reef environment.
Booth visitors could also pick from a wide range of take-home materials: buttons, bookmarks, fact sheets, extra waterproof paper, and the new Florida Integrated Science Center poster "Learn About the Science Around You," which was created to generate interest in USGS Web resources.
|
 |
in this issue:
USGS Studies Aid Puget Sound Recovery
USGS FISC Participates in 2006 Marine Quest Geography Team Visits USGS Woods Hole Science Center USGS Participates in Career Fairs at MIT USGS Scientist Attends Annual Field Trip for 20th Year National Ocean Sciences Bowl Competitors Tour Laboratories in Woods Hole WHSTEP Science and Math Safari Explores Use of Sound in Ocean Research
USGS Biologist Contributes Technical Expertise to Dive-Rescue Class
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
U. S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
previous story
