The Olympics – Marine Lab Style

The MLML Lab Olympics trophy – a coveted accolade for any marine scientist's resume! (photo: E. Loury)

by Erin Loury, Ichthyology Lab (and former MLML Olympic champ…)

With the Winter Olympics well underway in Vancouver, I thought it was time to focus some attention on the lesser-known games of glory in the marine science world – that is, the legendary Lab Olympics at MLML.  Once a year, the student body gathers together in a battle of skill, speed, and smarts to decide which lab is deserving of MLML gold.  Here’s a look at some of the daring events:

Science gear in action is a popular theme for variations on the quick-change relay:

The scuba gear relay - strip the gear of your teammate, put it on yourself, and waddle your way to victory! (photo: E. Loury)

Combining frisbee and accuracy with a science flair is the true essence of grad school:

The tallow bin toss: bag that (picture of a) dead skate or sea lion carcass in the tallow bin to snag the gold! (photo: E. Loury)

And any true marine lab event would require some brain power as well:

The unscrambler: break water balloons and rearrange the words inside to spell a win! (photo: E. Loury)

For all our years of training, we have yet to take our competition to the regional level.  Any labs out there willing to challenge?