Monday, August 6
We started the day with a tour of Plymouth, MA. We went to Plymouth Rock to see the sights and explore. First, we collected rocks from the beach near Plymouth Rock so we could all have souvenirs, our own "Plymouth Rock." We explored the Mayflower 2 and it was awesome. The Mayflower 2 was a replica of the Mayflower and it was very detailed, right down to the 17th century-acting crew.
Later, we meet Dr. Hatch who was really cool. Afterwards we had to get in the Gumby suits (survival suits. The first time I got in a suit that was way too small and felt like I was being stuffed in a can. The second time it was right but still hard to get on. Then while putting it on I fell and it was caught on video. Finally, Dr. Hatch gave us a presentation on whales that was fascinating and had cool whale sounds.
Tuesday, August 7
We started the day at Stellwagen to get ready for the trip on the research vessel Auk.
After being filmed walking down to the pier to the boat we had a safety talk and then we set sail. During our trip out to the Sanctuary, Leila talked about Stellwagen Marine Sanctuary and I found out that whales are an indicator species. They indicate the life of the tropic level and the health of the water. After the talk I saw my first whale. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I had never seen a whale before! It was a huge mass popping in and out of the water and it just looked so cool.
After seeing more whales we helped to deploy the Pop-Up. We synchronized the Pop-Up before we deploy it. I had to hoist the 200 pounds of sand that would anchor the Pop-Up and I was really nervous but it was easy to lift and the Pop-Up went down smoothly
Then we got a chance to use outrageously priced binoculars that were worth $15,000. They could tell you your bearings (direction) and could tell you the distance from what you were looking at.
We practiced the binoculars on a test dummy float that looked like a dolphin. Then we used them to sight real whales. After we saw a bunch of feeding whales, and excited greater shearwaters (birds), we went to retrieve the Pop-Up.
When we went to retrieve the Pop-Up I was the first one to see it and I got to listen to the computer talk to the Pop-Up to make sure the code to the release was received. I was so nervous about missing a beat I was trying my hardest to listen and not mess up. After the Pop-Up, we got to do water testing.
Wednesday, August 8
In the morning Dr. Hatch gave us another presentation, which was just as awesome as the first part. This time she showed us the data we collected on the whales could be put into maps that would tell us a lot more about the whales. Trying to keep my eyes open was like trying to lift a 2-ton boulder. I thought I was going to go to sleep on camera, but I stayed awake. At the end of the day, Lewis, Randy, and I went swimming in the harbor.
This has been an amazing experience, from the whale watching to the experiments to just hanging out. It's been the experience of a lifetime and I'm glad to be a part of it. The thing I'm going to take with me the most is that science is hard but if you really enjoy it then it is definitely worth it. I don't know what I want to do when I grow up but it's probably going to be something in science.