Drop-In to MLML Open House: This Fish Isn’t Too Cool For School!

Fish skeletons displayed in the Ichthyology Lab (photo: D. Spear-Hooton)

This sunglass-wearing fish skeleton thinks MLML is the coolest!  When you come to the MLML Open House, be sure to take a stroll around the Ichthyology Lab.  The fish skeletons reconstructed by MLML students are sure to impress you.  The guy wearing the sunglasses is a giant seabass, while the large fish skull in the foreground is from a Hawaiian grouper.  They hope you’ll say aloha in a couple of weeks!

MLML Open House is Saturday, April 30 & Sunday, May 1.

photo: E. Loury

Drop-In to MLML Open House: The Art of Science… Or Is It the Science of Art?

MLML students play paint-by-number

Sometimes we all need a break from the daily grind.  What’s a good way to take a breather?  How about taking some time for arts and crafts!

These MLML students are taking some time after-hours to paint the aquarium scene for the 2009 puppet show.  MLML alumna Heather Hawk lent her expertise and drew the fantastic backdrop, then directed her peers to fill the corals in with the proper colors.

If you’d like to see the 2009 Open House puppet show featuring Harry Spotter, take a look here!

Aquarium scene backdrop

MLML Open House is Saturday, April 30 & Sunday, May 1

Drop-In to MLML Open House: Like Sand Through Your Fingers

photo: E. Loury

Open House is a great chance to take a hands-on approach to science. Geological Oceanography Lab student Briar Kitaguchi shows visitors how wind can sort sand grains by size by moving them different distances.  Ocean waves and currents can do the same thing, allowing geologists to interpret the history of sediment movement by looking at the size of the grains.

photo: E. Loury

MLML Open House is Saturday, April 30 & Sunday, May 1.

Drop-In to MLML Open House: Discover Chromatography – We Want These Colors to Run

photo: E. Loury

How do biological oceanographers identify the phytoplankton in water samples they collect at sea?  They can use a technique called chromatography that separates the pigments that phytoplankton use for photosynthesis.  The major groups of plankton contain different pigments, and those pigments  produce a color spectrum when they separate by weight.  Scientists can use this color spectrum “fingerprint” to identify the type of phytoplankton the pigments came from.

You can try your hand at chromatography at MLML’s Open House thanks to the Biological Oceanography lab!  Did you know that pen ink is composed of many different pigments?  Watch the ink separate into a spectrum of colors to see for yourself!

MLML Open House is Saturday, April 30 & Sunday, May 1.

Drop-In to MLML Open House: Take a SCINI Dip

photo: E. Loury

Did you ever think that using a video game controller could be a useful scientific skill?  At Open House you can get the chance to pilot SCINI, a remotely operated vehicle.  SCINI stands for Submersible Capable of under-Ice Navigation and Imaging, and helps MLML researchers explore the frigid waters of Antarctica. With the touch of a button, you can make SCINI dive and surface, and move side to side – just without the Antarctic chill!

MLML Open House is Saturday, April 30 & Sunday, May 1.

photo: E. Loury

Drop-In to MLML Open House: Try Your Luck at the Opportunity Drawing

photo: E. Loury

Open House is not only a great educational opportunity, it’s the biggest fundraiser for the MLML student body.   The event is free to attend, but you can support us by buying tickets for the opportunity drawing.  We will have a bunch of amazing prizes you won’t want to miss!

Feeling lucky? Our prizes could be yours! (photo: E. Loury)

MLML Open House is Saturday, April 30 & Sunday, May 1.

Drop-In to MLML Open House: Come learn and sing with us!

The best part of the puppet show is the sciency songs!

If you come to Open House, be sure not to miss our puppet show, where we give popular songs a science twist!  Last year’s smash hits were “Chemoautotrophy” (sung to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”) and “Vertical Migration (sung to Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer”).  You can watch last year’s puppet show on-line to get pumped up for the next one!

Come and Jam with us!

MLML Open House is Saturday, April 30 & Sunday, May 1.

Drop-Into MLML Open House: Try Gyotaku, aka Fish Printing

Join us for fishpainting!

Have you ever tried fish printing?  It’s easy: choose your favorite fish, apply the paint, press and BOOM you have an amazing fish print.  Label your artistic masterpiece and let it dry while you explore the rest of the Open House.  Making fish prints is a great way to learn about the fish located here in Monterey Bay and have some fun!

MLML Open House 2011: Saturday, April 30 & Sunday, May 1.

Drop-In to MLML Open House: So Many Different Kinds of Fishes!

Explore the Ichthyology (FISH) Lab for neat fishes!

Make sure to stop by the Ichthyology Lab during Open House and see the different kinds of fishes we have in Monterey Bay.  They have many skeletons of fish – be sure to examine the teeth of the fishes and see how their shape is adapted to eating different kinds of food.  The wolf eel above can eat abalone and use its large mouth to swallow them!

The Pirate Puffer fish does not actually exist, but if it did it would have a wooden fin!

MLML Open House is Saturday, April 30 & Sunday, May 1.