OCEANIA Marine Educators Association

OCEANIA Share-a-Thon February 2012

2012-02-09T11:54:00.000-10:00

OCEANIA Update

OCEANIA member meeting potluck and NMEA recruitment session. Photo by Alyssa Gundersen.

OCEANIA Share-a-Thon

OCEANIA hosted our annual member meeting Feb 2^nd, 2012. A Share-a-Thon modeled after the annual NMEA event allowed members to share their projects, research, and opportunities with each other. Highlights of the Share-a-Thon included:

Updates from the volunteer program at Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB).

Mark Heckman shared lessons learned from his volunteer coordination efforts. He uses a volunteer blog to update his crew, and it’s open to the public. Check it out!

· http://coconutislandnews.blogspot.com/

HIMB volunteers in action. Photo by Mark Heckman.

HIMB Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Research Partnership New Website

Carlie Wiener shared the new website. Google analytics is helping her to better engage the public and tell what efforts are working. She is seeing spikes in traffic after her monthly press releases. Check out the website – there are current events and other goodies too (even a science glossary)

· www.hawaii.edu/himb/nwhi/

Carlie Wiener shares the new NWHI research website. Photo by Alyssa Gundersen.

Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council

Sylvia Spalding shared the new management website, which has games, the names of fish in the jurisdiction in various languages, as well as video pod-casts. Check out the resources!

· www.wpcouncil.org

· www.ahamoku.org - resources, fishpond observation log

Hawaiian Fishpond Project: Laulima A Ike Pono

Judy Lemus shared opportunities for local community members (students or otherwise) to gain experience through research & cultural education. Currently interns (6 months at a time) work with grad students on their research. The interns then come back to serve as mentor interns, ocean awareness training participants are mentored by current interns. OCEANIA is planning a field trip to work at the fishpond this fall.

Judy Lemus, with assistance from Liz Kumabe, presents about the Laulima A Ike Pono project. Photo by Alyssa Gundersen.

Exploring Our Fluid Earth Curriculum & Ocean Literacy Lesson Plans

Alyssa Gundersen and Lauren Kaupp presented about a new marine science curriculum based on the Teaching Science as Inquiry model (inquiry experiential learning) from the University of Hawaii’s Curriculum Research & Development Group and UH Sea Grant. Teachers in Hawaii are currently piloting the curriculum and website. In summer 2013, material will be available to the public. Student materials will be free, and paying teachers will be able to interact and share materials. Five modules will focus on connections between the ocean literacty principles and physical, Chemical, Biological, Ecology, and Practices of Science Content. Sign up to be notified when material is available:

· www.exploringourfluidearth.com

Preview of the Exploring Our Fluid Earth Curriculum and Online Learning Community site.

Cool Plankton

2011-05-13T15:35:00.000-10:00

Aloha,

Thought I would start to add in the marine life info posts I do for my volunteers. This week it is about a type of plankton.

Students are often startled when I tell them that the animal they are looking at in their samples is Lucifer. Well to be more specific, it is just a planktonic shrimp in the genus Lucifer. But yes, this is a very grandiose name for a creature less than an inch long.

Students can only get a bit of the shrimp into view at a time. Usually they get a couple of the wildly kicking legs which are wrecking havoc with the rest of their sample. I help them follow the body up to the stalked and impressive eyes to make it more recognizable.

Shrimps of the genus Lucifer are characteristic of warm tropical ocean waters. They are one of the very few decapod (10 legged) crustaceans that are permanent members of the planktonic community. They do not settle out to become larger bottom dwelling shrimps or crabs - our more common "decapods" (Note - the 10 legs include the claws - take a count next time you get crab at a restaurant to make sure you were not cheated).

Lucifer spp. are predators and possibly omnivores eating other plankton they encounter. Like most plankton, they are relatively short lived, probably 30 - 40 days.

The name for the group comes from a description of "luminous" (bioluminescent) plankton by one J.V.Thompson in the year 1829. As noted in the ever popular World Register of Marine Species (that would be WoRMS), the original reference was: "Thompson, J.V. 1829. Zoological researches, and illustrations; or, natural history of nondescript or imperfectly known animals, in a series of memoirs, illustrated by numerous figures. Memoir 3. On the luminosity of the Ocean, with descriptions of some remarkable species of luminous animals (Pyrosoma pygmaea and Sapphirina indicator) and particularly of the four new genera, Noctiluca, Cynthia, Lucifer and Podopsis, of the Shizopodae. Pages 37-66, plates 5-8. Cork: J. Hennessy, French Church Street Press."

In this case, the term lucifer does not refer to Satan, but more directly to the Latin translation of the the word which means "light-bearer," the name given to the morning star, Venus. Attachment of the term to Satan is misplaced, but I leave that to the biblical scholars among my readers. In any case, it is always a great find in our plankton samples.

Regards,

Mark Heckman
Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology

For more nice images of a Lucifer species off Australia, check out the Guide to the Marine Zooplankton of south eastern Australia. This is where the above image came from.

Other References:
Growth, reproduction and feeding behavior of the planktonic shrimp, Lucifer faxoni Borradaile, off the Texas coast. Wen Y. Lee1, Makoto Omori2 and Robert W. Peck. Journal of Plankton Research. 1991.

OCEANIA update for spring National Marine Educators Association (NMEA) newsletter

2011-04-28T08:39:00.002-10:00

Membership Meeting
OCEANIA hosted a membership meeting featuring a guest presentation on octopus by Dr. James Wood, the new Associate Director of the Waikiki Aquarium, good food & fun, beautiful NOAA sanctuary setting, and celebration of NMEA twister winners from 2010!

Dr. James Wood presents on octopus to OCEANIA members at membership meeting

NMEA Twister Champs: Jeff Kuwabara and Alyssa Gundersen share off the rewards of their labor from the 2010 conference.

Marine Debris Conference
In March, OCEANIA members attended the 5th International Marine Debris Conference in Honolulu, which brought together 440 participants representing 38 countries.

5th International Marine Debris Conference Logo

C-MORE Science Kits
To connect OCEANIA with students and teachers, OCEANIA supporter C-MORE (Center for Microbial Oceanography Research & Education) now has 14 science kit lending libraries in HI, CA, MA and OR, featuring hands-on science on a variety of oceanography topics (cmore.soest.hawaii.edu).

Ocean FEST (Families Exploring Science Together)
Ocean FEST is a collaboration between C-MORE and HIMB. A teacher/parent guide to Ocean FEST activities can be downloaded from http://oceanfest.soest.hawaii.edu.

Cartesian Divers in action at Ocean Fest.

Teaching Science as Inquiry Professional Development Courses
Teachers in Hawaii are currently participating in a 4-part aquatic science professional development course in Teaching Science as Inquiry with two new cohorts starting this fall and free curriculum materials available online to teachers nationwide.

Maui County and Big Island Cohorts can apply now:
www.uhsgmarinescience.org

OCEANIA Meeting Minutes

2011-02-15T12:43:00.000-10:00

Aloha,

It was a great evening with an interesting speaker, good food and excellent company!

Hope you were there, if not, watch for our next events (see the NMEA Conference March 9-13th, and Communicating Ocean Science Workshop, June 4th and 5th in Hilo, and MOP party in August - noted below).

Meeting minutes follow - thanks to Joanna Philippoff.

Mahalo,

Mark Heckman

OCEANIA Yearly Membership Meeting

Feb. 9^th, 2011 6:30-7:30pm

Talk: Dr. James B. Wood, New associate director of Waikiki Aquarium, Cephalopods

Introductions and Acknowledgements

OCEANIA Communications

Facebook, Blog (maintained by Mark Heckman) integration in future

· NMEAOCEANIA.blogspot.com (link will be sent out via email)

OCEANIA meetings and Get-togethers

· Annual membership meeting.

· Conference in association with HASTA, Oahu, Fall 2011

o Need help! Particularly with agenda (speakers), food, and activities

· Board – quarterly meetings

· 2 PD Field Trips for members (often in association with other events)

o Oahu options: Fishpond (planned, but never taken), Polynesia Voyaging Society (ride in canoe)

NMEA Board Meeting & Share-A-Thon at NSTA March 9-13^th, 2011

· Board Meeting – issues to discuss? Email/Call Kanesa

· Nominate people for awards

o Outstanding teacher

o Outstanding marine educator

· Scholarships

o $500 to attend NMEA national conference in Boston this year (end July, early July)

· Share-A-Thon – “Make and Take” Activities/Lessons/Materials to share or give (poster, bookmark, etc. (vs. brochures))

o Needed by Feb. 23, 2011, Shipped to Kanesa by March 5^th, 2011

Communicating Ocean Sciences Workshop – Big Island (Hilo)

· June 4^th and 5^th, 2011

· Participant Recruitment – Contact ideas?

o ½ attendees on Big Island, ½ on other islands

· Traditional Ecological Knowledge Focus

· OCEANIA Field trip in conjunction with COS (Friday before or Monday after):

o Field Trip Committee: Miki, Jay, (Jeff – “help”),

§ Option: Kapono Tidepools

§ Mark – has outreach grant to travel to neighbor islands, needs to use before Sept., combine with COS?

Dr. Cindy Hunter – UHM Marine Option Program (MOP) – update on Blue Water Marine Lab

· MOP turns 40 this year! Aug. 20^th party

Welcome to OCEANIA's Blog Site

2011-02-04T14:27:00.000-10:00

Aloha,

Welcome to OCEANIA's Blog site. If you would like to post to this site, just email me the material and an image, and I will put it up on the site! Hopefully this will be a useful way to get a good calendar going and event schedule, plus other relevant information.

Suggestions and additions are welcome!

Mahalo,

Mark Heckman

OCEANIA Board member
mheckman@hawaii.edu
Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology
SOEST/ University of Hawai'i-Manoa

Membership Meeting Feb 9th:

2011-02-04T14:16:00.002-10:00

We would like to remind everyone about our membership meeting coming up on Wednesday, February 9, 5:30 - 7:30pm.

Place: HIHWNMS Conference Room, Hawaii Kai, Oahu (with call-in ability from neighbor islands)
6600 Kalanianaole Highway, Suite 301
Honolulu, Hawai`i 96825

We will announce new OCEANIA Board officers, as well as new board members. We will give an overview of past activities and upcoming opportunities for 2011.

Special Guest Talk from Dr. James Wood, the new Associate and Education Director of the Waikiki Aquarium.

We also welcome you to participate in our (voluntary) potluck dinner.

SO THAT WE CAN PLAN FOR THE NUMBER OF ATTENDEES, WE ARE ASKING THAT YOU RSVP FOR THE MEETING AT THE FOLLOWING URL:
(Survey will close on February 4)

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HBH7WRY

NMEA Annual Board of Directors Meeting

2011-02-04T14:01:00.001-10:00

Aloha OCEANIA and Friends (feel free to distribute to marine educators in Hawaii not on our OCEANIA list),
Kanesa will be attending the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA) Annual Board of Directors meeting as the OCEANIA Chapter representative. Frannie and Kanesa will both be putting together a table for the NMEA Share-a-Thon at the National Teachers Association Meeting this March in San Francisco.

1. If you have items you would like me to discuss with the NMEA Board, please contact me by email, phone, or in person.

2. We are happy to share your outreach materials at the Share-a-Thon. If any of you will be attending the conference, please also join in at the Share-a-Thon! This is where regional chapters of the NMEA provide opportunities for networking, hands-on activities, take-home resources, and an opportunity to learn about marine and aquatic programs for teachers and students.

What: NMEA Session: A Whale of a Tale Share-a-Thon
When: Thursday, March 10, 9:30–10:30 AM
Where: Marriott San Francisco Marquis, Yerba Buena Salon 9

After the Share-a-Thon there will be a series of marine-related presentations throughout the day in the same room.

If you have things you'd like me to distribute, email me and we can discuss if I should get them from you or have them shipped to California ahead of time.

Thanks,
Kanesa & Frannie

Kanesa Duncan Seraphin, PhD

University of Hawaii,Curriculum Research & Development Group
UH Sea Grant, SOEST,Center for Marine Science Education, www.uhsgmarinescience.org
cell (preferred): 808-225-1753
tel: 808-956-4439
fax: 808-956-9486
email: kanesa@hawaii.edu

Reef Pulse Hawaii

2011-02-04T13:52:00.001-10:00

My name is Cory Lar Rieu. I work for Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative as a Curriculm Specialist. I am trying to get the word out about a new, FREE marine science curriculum called Reef Pulse Hawaii. It was funded by NOAA and created by the Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative at UH. Reef Pulse Hawaii is designed to support existing science curriculum for grades K to 2. However, it can easily be used in higher grades. Presently, the curriculum is available by contacting me. I upload the desired units or lessons to a server. From the server, teachers are notified and have access to what they requested. Soon, Reef Pulse Hawaii will be available to download from its own website. Reef Pulse Hawaii meets all of the Hawaii State Science Standards for grades K-2 (and some in upper elementary). Lessons will be search-able by science standard or topic. The materials used in the lessons are things the teacher already has or students can bring in from home. The following is a brief summary of the units:
· Unit 1: Matter! From Atoms to Electricity
o Atoms, states of matter, light energy, electrical energy.
· Unit 2: Water! From Waves to Weather
o Wave energy, heat energy, water cycle, weather matters.
· Unit 3: Zoom! From Earth to Habitats
o Sorting, biomes ecosystems, habitats, science exploration.
· Unit 4: Explore! From Sky to Sea
o Sun, earth, moon and stars, human exploration.
· Unit 5: Alive! From Algae to Zooplankton
o Alive or dead, alive and eating, alive and breathing, alive and defending, alive and growing.
· Unit 6: Energy! From Food to Forces
o Chemical energy and food chain, mechanical energy.
I am excited to share this new curriculum with as many educators as possible. Please pass the word about Reef Pulse Hawaiito your colleagues. If you would like to see a draft of a topic, I can e-mail it to you. If you have any questions feel free to contact me at ph. 956-7479 or e-mail at coryl@hawaii.edu. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Mahalo,
Cory Lar Rieu
Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative
Curriculum Specialist
ph. 956-7479