We had a great time at the FWC Marine Quest this week. We were lucky to get a spot as the event is very popular! We killed some time before our 12:00 rotation. 
We learned about phytoplankton and got to use some amazing microscopes. I have learned bout microscopes in science class but this was my first hands on experience with 3-D and SEM ! I was absolutely fascinated! 
We learned about the Florida Duck and how it is interbreeding with Mallard Ducks and making Hybrid F10s! (weird name). 
We learned how they use cameras with laser spots to measure characteristics of the birds like wing pattern, band width and color. The lasers allow for more precise measurements at a great distance. 
I took a Cool Shake Investigators pledge and helped solve the crime of illegal harvesting of sharks in the Gulf of Mexico! 
We learned about invasive plants and how they out compete natives for food, water and space. 
We saw some really cool underwater photography equipment that is used to monitor research projects. 
My favorite was the lab on eastern oysters and how they are indicators of ocean acidification. I thought it was cool to learn that research like this goes on at FWC. 
Over the weekend we drove toCedar Key for the Mock Marine Event. Since there was no state contest this year this was the next best thing. There were only two counties at the event, us and Alachua. SO we knew a lot fo the kids at the event. I missed two overall. One was a really tricky sea lavender. I never studied the leaves to the was my mistake. I know for next year though. I also missed one crab. I guess we need to review the crabs again! :0
We worked on putting a box together to send to 4-H kids in Kenya, Africa! This is part of a larger outreach another youth is organizing. We were so excited to add seashells, fidget spinners and other science items! 
We made cards to add to the box. 
This week at archery it rained almost the entire time. We only got to shoot 3 arrows each 🙁 We did get to make targets to shoot at next week! 
We wrapped up marine Team for the year with a fun day of fishing, not catching. We had a blast collecting seaweed from he floating dock and finding all the sea life living in it.
