Amazing Nature: How fish see the world Fish, crab and octopus see the world in a different light
Looking at a day’s catch of fish triggers a variety of reactions and emotions in onlookers. This week, a group of students from Anchorage on a field trip to Kodiak were treated to the sight of a fish hold sporting freshly caught cod, hali...
Amazing Nature: Whales migrating to rich feeding grounds and gray whales getting the mud scoop
Once again, Kodiak is celebrating Whale Fest. To celebrate the occasion and watch some whales, we packed a group of boys into our cars and headed out to Narrow Cape last Saturday.
Friday had been a pleasant and sunny day, and I hoped Saturday would follow suit.
It did not.
Clouds obscured the...
Amazing Nature: Ecosystems connect marine life forms We all know what an ecosystem is. We use the term all the time. But how is the term defined? How big or small is an ecosystem? Where are the boundaries? What are the factors in an ecosystem and how are they connected? These are questions that Kodiak seventh-grade students are contemplating during...
Amazing Nature: Small life forms are of big importance The ocean has an endless supply of life forms and topics to write and learn about. Nonetheless, sometimes I sit in my living room staring into space and wonder what the topic of the next amazing nature column should be.
On the last such occasion, my son asked if I had ever written about bacteria...
Amazing Nature: Biology and symmetry of sea stars Once again, it is that time of year when Kodiak fifth-graders visit the Ocean Science Discovery Lab on Near Island to conduct a scientific experiment complete with predictions, measurements, data recording and analysis. The stars of the unit are sea stars, and we begin by talking about the biolog...
Amazing Nature: Kodiak students compete and learn about oceans in statewide contest On, Sunday night, five tired Kodiak High School students and their two coaches returned home after a long and strenuous, fun and educational weekend. The annual statewide Tsunami Bowl competition in Seward, organized by the University of Alaska is a venue for high school teams to show off and exp...
Amazing Nature: Drill ship T’was a dark and stormy night in Kodiak as the old year 2012 yielded to the new 2013. I was surprised to wake up at midnight to see fireworks lighting my window.
Who out there was actually able to even get a rocket fuse lit with winds and rain ripping mercilessly? As I lay and wondered, a fright...
Amazing Nature: Christmas in the ocean It is the season for snow, ice, candy, stars, cookies and tinsel. Among ocean educators, the holidays have spurred a fun game of listing animals that have some reference to these things in their names.
Quite a few ocean animals have “Christmas” in their name, though I think these names have less...
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