Science is Everywhere at the Coast!

Over Memorial Day weekend we went to the California coast near Bodega Bay.  Our local 6th graders go on an annual “6th Grade Science Camp” every May and we didn’t want Brayden to feel like he was missing out on anything so we had our own “Family Science Camp”!  We went with Grandma & Grandpa Bearry in their trailer.  The first place we visited was the UC Davis Marine Biology Lab.  There we had a tour of their facility and learned about what they study there.  In these jars pictured above, we saw fish and other sea life they had studied.  Looks kind of creepy, huh?

Did you know that this is what a whale’s fin looks like on the inside?  It looked like a giant hand even though it is just a single piece on the outside, no fingers.

Gracie holding a Bat Star.  Did you know technically these are called Sea Stars not Star Fish like we have always called them.

Sea Urchin:)

Isn’t the view beautiful?  What you can’t see is that the wind was so strong when we took this picture that we almost blew over.  We didn’t stay long!  Did you know that this coast line of California is one of only three areas in the world that experiences upwelling?  Upwelling is where cool waters from down deep come to the surface.  Here it is water from the Artic that flows along the Continential Shelf south over a 1,000 years before making it here.  This phenomena creates a nutrient rich condition where abundant sea life can flourish.   We never knew that before.

One of the days there we drove south to Point Reyes.  We went to Bear Valley Vistors’ Center.  We went on a short hike with this ranger who told us all about the San Andreas Fault and the earthquake of 1906.  She made it fun by using “junk food analogies”.  She used peanut M&Ms and oreo cookies to teach us about earth’s core and shifting plates.

These two fences were built to recreate how the orginal farm fence that was here moved 16 feet during the earthquake in 1906!

These blue posts mark the line along which the earth split open during that same earthquake.  It was as deep as a cow (her example) but has since filled in with erosion.

We thought the hanging “moss” in this tree was really interesting.  It blew in the wind in a way that would make you think they were soft and light but when we touched it it was very coarse.

Maddy spotted this snake who had made his home in this telephone pole.  It later came all the way out and grandpa even picked it up with a stick.  He said it was a harmless gopher snake.

Gracie has never seen a horse see didn’t like!  She was drawn like a magnet to them as soon as she spotted them.  What she wouldn’t have given to have been able to ride one 😦

While still at Point Reyes, we drove out to a beach where the kids had fun running and playing in the grass covered sand dunes.

One afternoon we drove north of Bodega Bay.  We saw more beautiful coast line as well as wildflowers, arched rocks and a rock formation called Goats Head.

At Shell Beach we explored the tide pools.  However, since we went later in the afternoon we were there at close to high tide.  We were still able to see crabs, muscle and sea snails.  We thought we found a sea star but later realized it was just a red rock.  At least we got to see one at the lab earlier.

Ok, this has to fit in with science somehow, right!  I know, changing a liquid to a solid and back to a liquid again.  Like we said, science is every where 🙂

We also did take a water sample from the Russian River here to test the ph and temperature.

We visited Armstrong Redwood outside of Guerneyville near the Russian River

This tree is called the Parson Jones Tree and is the tallest in the grove.  It is 310 feet tall and is over 1300 years old!

The ground in the grove was covered with a beautiful green carpet of clover.  It was so peaceful, quite and serene there.  It almost seemed magical.

 Before heading back home, we made one last hike from our campground to the sea shore.  Despite the fact that the water was a chilly 52 degrees, the kids couldn’t resist playing a game of chase the waves.  Check out those hops of Brayden’s 🙂   We had a great time exploring and learning at our “Family Science Camp”!  Besides, trailer camping beats really camping (i.e. tent camping) any days – thanks G&G.      – Shannon