Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology: Day 12
Today was quite a day.
We visited the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, which has its own island, Coconut Island, all to itself. We had a crazy boat driver take us over on this tiny, rickety boat…I think it was even scarier than the submarine adventure.
Our first activity was a lecture and close up encounter with the dolphins. We met Boris, a bottlenose dolphin, and learned all about bottlenose dolphins and the research they help HIMB carry out. Everyone got to pet him and feed him; he obviously enjoyed the spotlight and obliged most willingly, especially when there was fish involved! We also met Kina, a false killer whale, which is another type of dolphin. We didn’t get to touch her, but she showed off for us in the water and demonstrated how she uses her exfoliating rope with a long, dramatic back rub. Did you know dolphins shed their skin 7 times a day? That’s why they need the exfoliating rope. Just thought I’d throw in some of the learning to humor my mom.
After the dolphins, we learned about pink snapper, a fish endangered by over-fishing, and viewed the facilities in which HIMB is testing the success rate of raising them in captivity. We also got to see some sharks. After lunch, we took an exclusive, behind-the-scenes walking tour of the island, learned its history, and viewed several of the different research stations. We also got to visit the touch tanks, where we got to hold exciting things like sea urchins and sea cucumbers (which are gross…they feel like intestines, and they kinda look like them too!). The sea urchin in the picture is a red pencil sea urchin. The day ended with some snorkeling in the bay by the island.
On the way home, took a detour up one of the many mountains to view the whole area we had just visited from above. It also happened to be the site of the battle led by King Kamehameha I to take over Oahu and fulfill his quest of uniting all of the Hawaiian Islands under one rule (look, mom, more learning!).
Finally, we looked at a slide show presentation of the underwater pictures we’ve taken so far so that we could identify them and figure out what we were seeing.
It was a long but interesting day. I think the next few days will be the same. Hopefully that means lots of interesting pictures!
posted by Liz @ 2:24 AM
2 Comments:
This looks so great! Everyone at work agrees that they didn't have classes like this when we were in college - tough way to learn. And thanks for the learning tidbits - I appreciate them!
Love you!
Hey Liz! It looks like you are having a blast. You'll have to share more pictures when you get back. See you soon!
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