At the end of every Digital WAVE session, we celebrate the students’ accomplishment with students, Museum staff, invited families and friends … and of course, chocolate cake! At our recent Family Event at the end of this year’s spring session, students presented the virtual world projects they’d created, which were designed to illustrate water pathways and the impacts of climate change on south Florida. Throughout the program, students gathered information for their projects through all kinds of fun activities. They went on a field trip to Anne Kolb Nature Center, met in-person with University of Miami scientist Dr. Arthur Mariano, met Dr. Annmarie Eldering of NASA via virtual worlds, conducted their own research, and built model aquifers. They even met virtually with students from Maloka Interactive Science Center in Colombia, who were also working on water and  climate related projects, through the Museum’s SCEnaRioS project. The final result was truly impressive, because not only did each group create south Florida environments like the Everglades or downtown Miami, but all of the groups worked together to make these environments fit in one interactive map of south Florida. All of the students received well-deserved certificates of completion, not to mention some yummy cake.

Students in the Museum’s Upward Bound program have had tons of amazing opportunities this summer. Upward Bound is one of the US Department of Education’s programs which help first-generation college bound students prepare for college and a degree in science, technology, engineering, and math. Just this summer, check out what students have been able to do: catch and release sharks with University of Miami researcher Neil Hammerschlag, who studies shark species and populations in south Florida… attend an overnight trip to Tampa, visiting the Mote Marine Laboratory and Myakka State Park… attend an overnight trip to Orlando, studying marine life with Sea World’s education program, visiting the Orlando Science Center, and going tubing… go out snorkeling, kayaking, and collecting marine samples to study… the list goes on! And at the end of the summer, students presented their summer-long research projects, which included topics like human impacts on tropical environments, solutions to environmental problems in the Arctic regions, and animals that live in extreme marine environments. Where else could students prepare for college with such cool, real-world experiences?

The definition of lucky: Nine students in the Museum’s Upward Bound program, along with 1 mentor and Upward Bound staff, getting to meet with Neil Hammerschlag of the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. He is a research assistant professor who studies the behavioral ecology of marine predators. The definition of luckier: these students spending the day with him at the Keys Marine Lab on Long Key, learning about his areas of research study – which include determining habitat and migration patterns of large coastal sharks, and studying how toxins in the marine environment have a greater and greater effect the farther you go up the food chain. The definition of luckiest: students getting to go out on a research boat with him and help to catch (for observation) and gather research on 7 different sharks, including hammerhead, bull, lemon, and nurse sharks. Neil Hammerschlag’s research is meant to advance ocean conservation efforts through science, and these students were privileged to be a part of it.

Most everyone was told growing up about how when a tree is cut down, you can look at the tree rings to figure out the tree’s age, and also how much the tree grew each year. Dendrochronology deals with this type of science, which can help us understand environmental conditions in the past – and even tell us whether a Viking ship was built in the year 819 or 820. Dr. Kevin Helmle, who is a research scientist at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) and NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), talked to students participating in the Digital WAVE program about another way to “tell time.” He works in sclerochronology, which means using layers in coral cores, in a similar way as rings in tree trunks. Annual layers of coral growth can be studied to provide information on environmental and climate history over many past centuries. Dr. Helmle brought real coral cores to show, and also showed students x-ray images of interior coral layers (see image below). By looking at the size and density of the layers, scientists like Dr. Helmle can determine things like the water temperature, water chemistry, and exposure to light the coral experienced at that time. Students then looked at the coral x-ray images, identified layers that corresponded to important years in their lives (or in history), and looked at real data for that year to find out what was going on in the oceans at that time. Just like real sclerochronologists!

X-radiographic positive print (left) with annual density bands (dark bands = high density, and light bands = low density) and a photograph of the coral slab (right). Helmle, K. P., and R. E. Dodge (2011), Sclerochronology, in Encyclopedia of Modern Coral Reefs; Structure, Form and Process, edited by D. Hopley, pp. 958-966, Springer Verlag. Doi:10.1007/978-90-481-2639-2_22

There is a saying that goes: if you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito. When it comes to the subject of climate change, it seems unbelievable that we can each make a positive difference on the Earth, but it’s true. This week Dr. Amy Clement came to speak to students in the Digital WAVE program at the Museum. Dr. Clement is a professor of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. She studies the behavior of the Earth’s climate system, and Digital WAVE students are working in virtual worlds designing 3D objects related to climate change, so it was a great fit. Dr. Clement talked with students about things humans can do to help, like conservation, renewable energy, carbon capture, land use planning, and ecosystem management. The image below shows what Florida coastlines would look like with a 1 meter (about 3 feet) sea level rise – all of the red areas would be underwater! It’s clear we need to do what we can to slow or reverse the effects of climate change. We may be tiny compared to the Earth, but so are mosquitoes compared to us.