Education Program Update
The beginning of 2007 has proven to be a very busy time for the
education program. This session would not have been so
successful without the help of our volunteers!
We began the year with an interactive booth at the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ocean Discovery Day on
January 20, 2007, in Galveston, TX. The event was held to
celebrate the 200th Anniversary of NOAA and the 15th Anniversary of
the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Among the
live music, tours, and exhibits, the day incorporated an interactive
"passport" activity that consisted of attendees obtaining a passport
stamp at each exhibit and being awarded a prize for visiting all
displays. Our booth included TMMSN informational displays, the
traveling bone collection, and mock strandings. We implemented
new children's activities, which have become a big hit at other
events as well! With free face painting, marine mammal
activity sheets, and stickers for the kids, the day turned out to be
fun and successful in promoting our mission.
During the weekend of March 3, 2007, TMMSN participated in the
Houston Zoo's 4th Annual Enrichment Day. Volunteers eagerly
offered their assistance with manning the booth, which included an
informational display, face painting, our bone collection, and mock
strandings. We were able to educate the public on the measures
we are taking to aid in marine mammal conservation and inform them
of how they may be able to get involved.
In the year 2000, March was officially deemed Dolphin Awareness
Month in Galveston. This year, several special events were
held during the month of March in celebration of this
acknowledgment. The TMMSN showcased a banner over Broadway
(below), displaying the emergency pager number, to help raise
awareness. We plan to continue hanging the banner each year in
March!
We also held the first annual Dolphin Awareness T-shirt Contest this
year. Thank you to everyone who participated, we had several
great entries for the first year. Volunteers and members voted
and the winning T-shirt artists were Mary Ronje and Marci Looper!
Congratulations to you both!
Everyone start thinking of ideas
for the 2008 Dolphin Awareness T-shirt Contest. One final
event held in recognition of Dolphin Awareness Month was the first
annual Galveston Citywide Dolphin Rescue Training. It was held
on March 24, 2007 on the beach at Seawall and 53rd.
Several volunteers, including UTMB's "Dr. Dolphin", helped recruit beachgoers. Approximately 200 participants were trained and several signed up to attend our new volunteer day! We plan to continue the citywide training on an annual basis. This was a new event for us, which required a lot of volunteer support. We couldn't have attempted this full day without the help of all those volunteers!
On March 31st and April 1st, several volunteers headed up to the
Reliant Center in Houston to run our booth at the SeaSpace Expo.
The 38th annual adventure sports and travel exposition featured over
150 booths including scuba diving, outdoor activities, exotic
travel, adventure sports, interactive demonstrations, and the TMMSN!
It was another great opportunity for us to educate adults and
children of all ages on the goals of the Network
and how they can get involved.
Our "Whale of a Museum" exhibit continues to be showcased at Moody
Gardens at different times throughout the year. This
educational display explores the world of marine mammals from the
viewpoint of the TMMSN. The collection features a large
assortment of specimens that are found in the Gulf of Mexico.
One of the most impressive pieces is the skull of a 32.8 ft. young
adult sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). The
exhibit also features a fully articulated bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops
truncatus)skeleton, a rarer species that has been seen along
the Texas Gulf coast. For those of you who haven't had the
opportunity to see it, it's well worth the trip!
By Lindsey Godlove and Sarah Piwetz
TMMSN Office Assistants