Mr. Dossaji’s 8th Grade Environmental Science Class got a chance to visit the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium facility located on the banks of Terrebonne Bay in the Gulf of Mexico.
Students were given a tour of the facility including the archival room filled with marine specimens as well as a hands on laboratory Plankton lab in which they were able to observe various Phyto and Zooplankton under compound and dissection microscopes, learn about hypoxic zones (low oxygen) and their effects on the animal life in the area as well as create a plankton model and take part in the Plankton Races Challenge.
The highlight was a boat trip on the research vessel Acadiana out towards the barrier islands in which the LUMCON team trawled the waters and students were able to use Google Earth to track the route followed by a session of identification of the the fish, shrimp, squid and other organisms they were able to catch. As Lagniappe we were visited by a family of dolphins which was the perfect climax to the experience.
A special thanks to Mr. Mavor, Mr. Coppejans, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Hebert and Mr. Baier for helping to chaperone the students.
