Breaking Waves

Marine fossils and sea turtles take center stage in February and March as OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Visitor Center presents two special learning and exploration events for the whole family.

On Saturday, Feb. 9 at 11:30 a.m., join us for FossilFest, one of our most popular winter events and a chance to learn about the fascinating fossils you can find on the Oregon coast. Bring your own specimens for expert identification or to swap with other fossil enthusiasts, or pick up a free fossil from our sample table and start a new hobby. Guest speakers include Dr. William Orr of the University of Oregon and Guy “the Oregon Fossil Guy” DiTorrice of Newport. Children’s activities, presented by the North America Research Group (NARG) include digging for shark teeth, making a shark tooth necklace, painting a fossil replica, and an ammonite toss.

On Saturday, March 1, come learn about the fascinating world of sea turtles as the Visitor Center hosts Sea Turtle Saturday, starting at 11:30 a.m. Speakers include Dr. Larry McKenna, author of “Almost Gone,” the story of the endangered leatherback sea turtle, and Dr. Selena Heppell, an OSU marine biologist who will talk about successful turtle conservation efforts around the world. Kids can take part in a Leatherback Painting Contest where everone goes home a winner!

The Visitor Center is located on Yaquina Bay in Newport, just south of the Yaquina Bay Bridge. Admission is by donation.

People come to Oregon from all over the United States each year to learn about - and try to spot - the gray whales that migrate past our coast. Now’s your chance to join the host of volunteers who take up stations at prime whale-watching spots each winter and spring to teach people about these majestic marine mammals.

Oregon Sea Grant, the OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center and Oregon State Parks and Recreation team up Nov. 17-18 to offer training for volunteers in the Winter Whale Watch Week “Whale Spoken Here” program. Dr. Bruce Mate, OSU marine mammal specialist, and John Calambokidis, research biologist and co-founder of Cascadia Research, will lead the Newport training.

Pre-registration is required; sign up through Whale Spoken Here, the Oregon State Parks & Recreation whale-watching site.

This year’s Winter Whale Watch Week is Dec. 26-Jan. 1.

(Additional training will be offered in January and February for those interested in volunteering for the Spring Whale Watch Week, March 22-29, 2008).

(photo of surf scoters and breeching gray whale courtesy of the Oregon State Parks Whale Watching Center, Depoe Bay)

It’s not too early to sign your child up for this summer’s marine science day camps at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. The four-day, age-appropriate summer camps on the Central Oregon coast are designed for youngsters 8-12 and 13-17 and cover a variety of marine-science topics. Hands-on classes and outdoor field adventures cover topics ranging from marine biology to geologic processes, marine mammals and oceanography. Classes and field trips are led by experienced educators from Oregon Sea Grant’s marine education program.

Registration fees range from $120-$140, and cover all instructional materials, field-trip transportation and a camp T-shirt. Lunches are not included.

Our day camps are extremely popular and fill fast - register early to assure your child a place!

• Read more, and download registration forms here.

What: Ocean Science and Exploration, a professional development workshop
When: Saturday, June 30, 2007, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Where: Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore.

Classroom science teachers (grades 6-12) are invited to join NOAA education specialists Bruce Moravchik and Cindy Renkas for a day-long workshop on using the agency’s Discovery Center and Ocean Explorer Web sites to connect and engage students on subjects ranging from ocean careers to the watery realms of estuaries, coral reefs, and deep ocean volcanos. Stipends are available for teachers who commit to follow-up activities and evaluations.

Pre-registration (by June 11) is required, and space is limited. For more information contact Melissa Feldberg at Oregon Sea Grant, (541) 737-2758.

Sorry, but teachers who have participated in previous Discovery Center/Ocean Explorer workshops are not eligible to take part.

What: Pond School 2007
When: May 5, 2007, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Where: Oregon State University’s Lasells Stewart Center

Corvallis, Ore. - Oregon Sea Grant and the Oregon Aquaculture Association will host a day-long workshop on Saturday, May 5 for anyone interested in ponds and ornamental fish. Featuring a broad range of speakers from Oregon universities, agencies, and the ornamental fish and garden industries, the workshop includes in-depth sessions on pond ecology, disease prevention and control, and pond-scaping, among other topics.

• Read more …
• Register to attend

Newport, Ore. - A series of one- and two-day classes offered by Oregon Sea Grant aims to prepare fishermen, scientists and others whose work takes them to sea to survive the worst of what the watery environment can throw at them.

Organized by Sea Grant Extension’s Kaety Hildenbrand and taught by the U.S. Coast Guard, the remaining classes, coming up in May and June, are directed at marine scientists, graduate students, aquarium specimen collectors and others whose jobs take them to sea, but who likely have not had the formal training safety available to commercial fishermen.

• Read more …