NOAA Teacher at Sea
Louise Todd
Soon to be Aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II
September 13 – 29, 2013
Mission: Shark and Red Snapper Bottom Longline Survey
Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico
Date: September 9, 2013
Welcome to my NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog!
Personal Log
I am thrilled that in just a few days I will be aboard NOAA ShipOregon II as a NOAA Teacher at Sea. I have been eagerly waiting for this week to arrive and now it is almost here! On Friday, September 13, I will fly from New Orleans to Houston and then drive to Galveston. I will be aboard the Oregon II from Galveston, Texas until we dock in Pascagoula, Mississippi on September 29.
I am the Education Coordinator at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans, Louisiana. I manage our education animal collection, those animals that are used in programs at the aquarium and in our outreach programs, and I coordinate the AquaKid program. Our animal collection includes a range of animals from saltwater invertebrates like horseshoe crabs to large reptiles like a red tail boa. Caring for these animals is one of the best parts of my job. I love interacting with them each day and ensuring they receive quality care. Our program animals are an important part of our mission to connect our audiences to nature. Inviting our guests to interact with these animal ambassadors helps demonstrate just how awesome animals can be! The AquaKids are youth volunteers who enter our program when they are in 7th-9th grades. AquaKids go through a training session during the month of July that covers basic marine biology and prepares them to serve as educators at the Aquarium for the next school year. Some of my favorite parts of the summer training session with the AquaKids are the field trips we take every week and the dissection of spiny dogfish that we do in the last week of training. I am ecstatic to be aboard the Oregon II and to be able to bring back new research and information to share with the AquaKids during our summer training.
Science and Technology Log
I will be aboard the Oregon II participating in the fourth and final leg of a shark and red snapper longline survey. These longline surveys are crucial in assessing the populations of sharks and red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico and the western Atlantic Ocean. You will be able to track the progress of the Oregon II as we move through the Gulf of Mexico using NOAA’s ship tracker. I will be participating as a member of the science crew working a 12 hour shift each day. I cannot wait to see what we catch during this leg of the survey! This will be an amazing opportunity for me to see population research in action and to share that research with my blog readers and visitors to the Audubon Aquarium when I return from this experience.
I have had a great summer with trips to the barrier islands of Georgia for vacation and New York for my sister’s wedding. This time aboard the Oregon II will be an exciting end to my summer. I hope you will continue reading as I post about my experience and ask any questions you might have in the comments section!
Hey Louise it’s Sam, your very favorite aquakid. One thing we need of the second year volunteers. Second thing, why didn’t you bring me. Third, hope your having a good time can’t wait to hear about it. I also told my science teacher about the blog so I have been looking at it often.
Hey Louise it’s Sam, your very favorite aquakid. One thing we need pics of the second year volunteers. Second thing, why didn’t you bring me. Third, hope your having a good time can’t wait to hear about it. I also told my science teacher about the blog so I have been looking at it often.
Thanks for reading Sam! I’ll see what I can do about pictures of returning volunteers. I am having such a good time and will have some cool pictures to show AquaKids when I return.