San Juan Island 6th Graders check out the animals they found in Griffin Bay.
J Meyer
San Juan Island 6th Graders check out the animals they found in Griffin Bay.

It’s a picture-perfect day on the shores of San Juan Island’s Griffin Bay. The sun is blazing, the tide is out, and Debbie Taylor’s sixth grade class is on the prowl, keeping their eyes peeled for mud- and sand-loving ocean critters. Bedecked in rain boots and sneakers caked in wet sand, the students poke and prod in burrows and under seagrasses in search of marine invertebrates.

“I found a bent-nosed clam!” exclaims a girl in black plastic boots and bright blue hoodie. She brings it to one of her instructors for closer inspection, and a few of her classmates drop shovels and trowels to come check it out.

Participating in the Friday Harbor Labs Science Outreach Program, these sixth graders become scientists themselves to study the marine environment surrounding them. Established in 2001, the program is a partnership between the UW’s Friday Harbor Laboratories, San Juan Island School District, and the Spring Street International School. It pairs research scientists, K-12 students, teachers, and resource managers to create opportunities for hands-on environmental science projects.

Students and instructors observe their invertebrate catch.
J Meyer
Students and instructors observe their invertebrate catch.

“What excites me about this program is it gives students the opportunity to experience real science firsthand in the field and lab,” says Jenny Roberts, director of the program. “Students really get engaged when they actively participate in the process of science.”

All of the projects focus on involving students in this process—observing, asking questions, predicting, collecting data, analyzing data, and making conclusions. This class will compare the animals they find on Griffin Bay’s calm, sandy beach to those they collect at another site on the island—the rocky shores at Deadman Bay on the islands west side. Comparing the two helps illustrate that different animals call different environments home based on their needs and adaptations.

Students collect invertebrates and fish at the water's edge.
J Meyer
Students search the eelgrass beds looking for invertebrates and fisf.

The San Juan Islands are an ideal location for this program. The Friday Harbor Laboratories, part of the College of the Environment, provide a unique setting that gives researchers from around the world access to diverse and relatively pristine research sites. The San Juans’ shores and underwater ecosystems are host to some of the West Coast’s greatest diversity of marine plants and animals, including the six-gilled shark, orca whales, the world’s largest octopus and burrowing clam, and a suite of seaweed species that provide habitat and food that fuels this incredible diversity.

Back at the beach, the students are turning up more and more animals—they’re even catching a few tidepool fish. As students show off their prized treasures to classmates, it’s easy to see that their curiosity is piqued—and for some, it may very well be their first step in becoming the next generation of ocean scientists and stewards.

Written by: John Meyer, jjmeyer@uw.edu

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Want to help the FHL Science Outreach Program? Join the the Friday Harbor Labs community for Jazz at the Labs on August 22, 2015 for a fundraiser that benefits the Science Outreach Program. Check out the FHL website for more information.