Ocean Sciences Workshop

On Saturday, September 21, we hosted our first workshop of the year: Ocean Sciences at the Pacific Beach / Taylor Library led by Sofia Hayden. We started off the workshop by introducing participants to the physics behind the ocean, delving into the origin of tides and the flow of ocean currents. Using food coloring and water at different temperatures, participants got to demonstrate how density affects current flow. Then, participants learned about the biology of the ocean, from phytoplankton to deep sea creatures to coral reefs. One participant remarked that “if we didn’t have plankton, everything would die,” illustrating the interconnectedness of ocean ecosystems.

The girls then learned about the challenges facing ocean conservation today, most notably ocean acidification. Participants observed and analyzed the process of ocean acidification using vinegar, baking soda and pH indicator solution, and as one participant stated, she saw how the indicator solution “went from basic to more acidic,” which another participant thought was “pretty cool.”

​Finally, it came time for our participants to apply their knowledge and come up with their own solutions to protect the ocean! Each group created their own marine conservation plan and presented it to a panel of “judges” (our volunteers). Everyone came up with super innovative solutions! One group decided to address light pollution, as “sea turtles use light to find their way back to the ocean, so when there’s too much light the sea turtles get lost.” Another group came up with a robotic contraption called “Jimmy the Octopus” that would use nitrogen to eliminate Crown-of-Thorns, a major predator of coral.

Overall, it was another fun and educational AGSS workshop. We look forward to an awesome year, and we highly encourage you to sign-up for our upcoming Mathematics of Games workshop on October 12!