• Work experience student from Victoria

    by  • August 31, 2015 • Announcements, Volunteers • 0 Comments

    DSC_0158Wanting to work in a field of environmental and marine science, the marine discovery centre in Eden was a great insight into that field of work.

    Nervous on my first day, I was greeted by the always cheerful Kerryn, who walked me around the building showing me the lab, the tanks as well as talking me through what I would usually do in the morning if not done already. After the walk through the centre, I was  ready to begin. Kerryn gave me the job of feeding the live aquatic life in the tanks. We mainly fed the animals raw prawns. I remember that each tank required different sized portions of the shrimp. That was the highlights of my first day, the second day began with meeting the head of education, Jillian. She gave me the interesting job of testing the tanks ph levels and temperature. Later Jillian and Kerryn gave me the interesting job of cleaning the touch table. It was good to clean and tidy up the table while also familiarising myself with what they had on display.

    One of the final jobs of the day and probably the most interesting was Jillian asking me to remove the Port Jackson shark egg from one of the larger tanks to the smaller holding tank we had in the lab. Unfortunately, while reaching in for the egg, something had grabbed hold of my pincer. The octopus had nabbed my pincer and wouldn’t let go.  I asked (more like pleaded) the help of Kerryn and Jillian who distracted the octopus and retrieved the egg. On Wednesday and Thursday, Jillian and I set up an marine science booth at an Aboriginal Education Centre where primary school students were able to enjoy the touch tank and table displaying shells, bones and other objects from the touch table. Those two days were the most exhausting but it was still great to talk with and teach the kids about aquatic life.

    The final day, I was able to go out to the close by rock pools to search for new exhibits for the tanks and touch tank. I was accompanied by two friendly volunteers who taught me how to handle the live animals and what to look out for. As the day went on, I the unlucky one, was only able to catch a couple of smaller starfish while the others, with much more experience were able to catch a great deal more than me.  They caught larger starfish, crabs and even a pup cat shark. The Friday was my favourite day and I was disappointed to leave so soon. I hope to visit sometime in the future and I would recommend the Marine Discovery Centre to any person/student who is interested in marine activities.  Thanks to Kerryn and Jillian for the great experience.

    About

    Marine Education Officer for the Sapphire Coast Marine Discovery Centre. A qualified marine scientist and educator with a Bachelor degree in Global and Ocean Science obtained from the Australian National University and a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication.

    https://www.sapphirecoastdiscovery.com.au

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