Mr. Dossaji’s 8th Grade Environmental Science Class recently visited the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) facility in Chauvin located on the banks of Terrebone Bay in the Gulf of Mexico.
Students were given a tour of the facility, including the archival room filled with marine specimens. The young scientists were able to visit a Plankton lab where they observed various Phyto and Zooplankton under compound and dissection microscopes, learned about hypoxic zones (low oxygen) and their effects on the animal life in the area, as well as created a plankton model and participated in the Plankton Races Challenge.
The highlight was a boat trip to the Barrier Islands upon the research vessel The Acadiana. 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 caught. As lagniappe, the explorers were visited by numerous families of dolphins which was the perfect compliment to the experience.
A special thanks to Mr. Coppejans, Mr. Hebert and Mr. Baier for helping to chaperone the students.
