Kelly Foss

The Department of Ocean Sciences is about to wrap up a two-month long joint collaboration with the Oceans Learning Partnership that offered high school students and their teachers an opportunity to discover the diverse and fascinating world of ocean science.

The biodiversity lab program gave Biology 2201 students and their teachers a fantastic field trip that provided many of the learning outcomes associated with the biodiversity unit of the course.

“The program is an excellent opportunity to introduce students to the diversity of life in the oceans, to discuss adaptations and excite students about marine science,” said Danielle Nichols, program coordinator and research marketing manager with the Department of Ocean Sciences.

When it concludes in early November, the hands-on learning program will have been delivered to more than 370 students over the six-week period at Memorial’s Ocean Sciences Centre (OSC) in Logy Bay. Thirteen schools participated from St. John’s, Torbay, Mount Pearl, Avondale, Bonavista, Conception Bay South and Bell Island.

“Students rotated through learning stations during which they dissected a fish and learned about adaptations for marine environment; handled live invertebrates and learned how to identify each using a dichotomous key; compared marine habitats; participated in animal care, including water quality monitoring; assisted with ongoing behavior studies of resident harp seals and learned about the research taking place at the OSC,” said Ms. Nichols.

Along the way, experienced lab technicians and graduate students guided the high school students as they discovered the ocean and learned hands-on lab skills, while being exposed to a variety of career possibilities in marine research.

The program was originally designed specifically to complement the at-sea field program offered by Oceans Learning Partnership. It was piloted in fall of 2013 with Biology 2201 and Science 1206 students and received very positive feedback from those who took part.