Hey! My name is Aubrey and I am the Animal Care Intern. On February 23rd, a select group of Discovery Corps members and I went to Normandy Park Cove to collect animals for our Puget Sound Tide Pool exhibit at Pacific Science Center.
At first, we were skeptical of whether or not we would be able to make the trip because it was supposed to snow. Throughout the day we would eagerly look outside anticipating a snow-covered ground, but, alas, there was none. At around noon, our group packed into a Science on Wheels van to travel over to the park. When we arrived we saw that the beach didn’t have people on it - which is excellent for tide pool collecting. This way, we could avoid others thinking that it was okay to collect tide pool animals without a permit.
As soon as we stepped on the beach we went over our objectives. Our goal was to collect hermit crabs, anemones, and chitons within the limit set by our own animal-collecting permit. I was partnered up with my coworker Joy, who is the Discovery Carts Coordinator for our Science Interpretation Program, to find chitons. At first, they were hard to spot out because they blended in with the sand and rock. However, we eventually found some and put them in our collection bucket. While we were collecting chitons, my other coworkers were collecting different species of hermit crabs and anemones. We even saw a starfish with nine legs!
At the end of the day we were tired and cold, but the experience was totally worth it. When we arrived back at Pacific Science Center we moved the new animals into the tide pool so that they could be introduced to their new environment. Since that trip, our tide pool is full of new animals, awaiting the touch of curious minds of visitors.
The Life Sciences blog thanks Aubrey for her report and photographs.
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