![Great Turtle Race, Yahoo trading card [200x150, 22K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/pic/pic_070410_yahooturtle.gif "Great Turtle Race")
Leatherback sea turtles are the largest and most ancient lineage of marine turtles. Eleven of them have been fitted with satellite transmitters as part of the Great Turtle Race, which begins on April 16, 2007.
The event is organized by The Leatherback Trust, Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP), Conservation International and Costa Rica’s MINAE. Some of the turtles are sponsored by Plantronics, Yahoo and West Marine, among others.
The whole site is a pretty slick production and includes Flashified trading cards for all the animals and a Flickr page. No word on whether the sponsors got to stencils their logos directly onto the turtles.
The sponsored turtles…are “racing” toward feeding areas south of the Galapagos Islands after nesting at Playa Grande in Costa Rica’s Las Baulas National Park, the primary nesting area for leatherbacks in the Pacific. The leatherback is a 100 million-year-old, massive sea animal that outlived the dinosaurs but is now dangerously close to extinction. Leatherback numbers have decreased at Playa Grande from thousands of nesting turtles 10 years ago to fewer than 100 in the last five years. This online event will raise funds to protect Playa Grande and raise awareness about what individuals can do-no matter where they live-to help protect sea turtles in our daily actions.
Lesson plans for K-5 and 6-12 grades are hosted by ERIC. Additional educational materials are supposed to be available in the “Sea Turtle School” area at www.GreatTurtleRace.com.
UPDATE: Stephen Colbert devoted part of his monologue to the leatherback race. One of the turtles is named after him.
More tentacle tinglage coming up from PBS. Sadly, no lesson plans or prepared companion guides for educators. Originally aired December, 2005.
ENCOUNTERING SEA MONSTERS
Airs April 8, 2007 at 8pm on PBS
NATURE follows Bob Cranston in his quest to film and understand the world’s most mysterious cephalopods.
Continue reading ‘PBS Special: Encountering Sea Monsters’
[via TONMO]![PBS NOVA Kings of Camouflage, Cuttlefish [200x150, 7.6K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/pic/pic_070329_PBScuttlefish.jpg "PBS NOVAL: Kings of Camouflage")
PBS airs another oceanic special, this time on cuttlefish. My tentacles are tingling!
Cuttlefish: The Brainy Bunch by Kaufmann Productions
a film by Gisela Kaufmann & Carsten Orlt
Premiers Tuesday, April 3 at 8 pm
Join NOVA on a voyage beneath the waves, where you’ll discover a bizarre, alien-like creature like no other. It’s an animal with eight sucker-covered arms growing out of its head, three hearts pumping its blue-green blood, and a doughnut-shaped brain. It has the ability to change its color and shape to blend in with seaweed and rocks, and it has a knack for switching on electrifying light shows that dazzle its prey. Perhaps most surprising of all, this animal is quite intelligent, with a highly complex brain. In this program, underwater cameras capture the extraordinary, transformative powers of the cuttlefish.
I am thinking of hosting a webcast/Skypecast during this program. Would anyone be interested in joining a simultaneous conversation while the show is airing?
Continue reading ‘PBS Special on Cuttlefish, Tuesday, April 3 at 8 pm’
PBS is airing its tenth installment of Journey to Planet Earth series tomorrow. The show is hosted by Matt Damon, which is kind of annoying. Expect a disheartening survey of the many ills facing our planet’s oceans interspersed with optimistic words about mankind’s resourcefulness and the hope that technology and international cooperation will someday solve all these problems.
STATE OF THE OCEAN’S ANIMALS
Premiers March 28th, 2007 at 8pm on PBS
Check local listings
Nearly half the world’s marine animals may face extinction over the next twenty-five years. Global warming, over-fishing, and habitat destruction are emptying the world’s oceans. Join host Matt Damon as “State of the Ocean’s Animals” takes a hard look at the future of our watery natural world: the beauty, the incredible animals, and the dangers that threaten them.
Features scenes from the Pacific Northwest (whales, salmon and sea otters), Florida (sea level rise and its effect on loggerhead turtles), Japan (the slaughter of dolphins), China (shark fin trade), and the Antarctic (threats to Emperor Penguins).
![Pineapple-upside-up Birthday Cake [150x200, 4K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/pic/pic_070212a_pineappleupsidedownbirthdaycake.jpg "This is the pineapple-upside-up cake my wife baked to celebrate.")
On this day in 1809, a couple of significant figures were born: Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln. And even though it’s still a couple years off, it’s not to early too start planning for their 200th Birthday celebration. It will also be the 150th Anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s On The Origin of Species.
The objective of Darwin Day Celebration is to encourage existing institutions worldwide, such as municipalities, public and private schools, colleges and universities, libraries, museums, churches, private organizations and individuals to celebrate Science and Humanity every year, on, or near, February 12, Darwin’s birthday!
There is also an effort afoot to build a recreation of Darwin’s famous brig, the HMS Beagle. His trip around the Galapagos while onboard provided much of the inspiration for his theory of evolution.
[T]he Beagle Project…aim[s] to provide the most compelling events of Charles Darwin’s 2009 anniversary by building a sailing replica of HMS Beagle and sailing in Darwin’s wake. The build and Beagle’s arrival in the Galapagos in 2009 will be two of the most striking, iconic media events of the 2009 celebrations, aimed at firing the scientific imaginations of a new generation and celebrating the life and work of Charles Darwin, one of the greatest biologists ever.
Back in May 2006 I came across Hackshaven Harford and the early efforts to bring NOAA/ESRL into Second Life. Since then, NOAA has purchased its own Second Life island and it’s almost ready for the public. Exhibits on the sim were developed by Aimee Weber Studios and include a demonstration of tsunamis, glaciers and undersea life.
If you are wondering why NOAA is in Second Life, you can find the FAQ here:
Second Life (SL) provides a unique ability to create an immersive simulated learning experience. It is a cost effective way of reaching large numbers of people that otherwise would not have access to the wealth of knowledge that NOAA and ESRL possess. Currently, NOAA/ESRL are exploring SL as a way of visualizing the vast amouts of educational material and data at their disposal.
The Science Center in Second Life will get a sneak peek at NOAA/ESRL’s Meteroa Sim. The beta-test tour will be on Wednesday, Decemeber 6, at 8:00 AM PST. You must be part of the Science Center to take part.
UPDATE: The tour was great. I got to ride a weather balloon. Hacks says the sim will be open to the public “soon.”
The Exploratorium is a museum in San Francisco, CA and was founded in 1969 by noted physicist and educator Dr. Frank Oppenheimer. They have an extensive website with many, many pages exploring hundreds of different topics. They also have competition called the Iron Science Teacher which is webcast live. The next event is on August 11, 2006 at 12:00pm PST/3:00pm EST/7:00pm GMT.
Parodying the cult Japanese TV program, Iron Chef, the Exploratorium’s Iron Science Teacher competition showcases Bay Area science teachers as they devise demonstrations around a particular ingredient—an everyday item such as a plastic bag, a milk carton, or a nail. In a fast-paced atmosphere where showmanship and creativity reign, science teachers are given ten minutes to concoct a science activity that can be used in the classroom.
Unfortunately, you need RealPlayer in order to see the webcast.
![Listen via iTunes [80x20, 4K]](http://cephalopodcast.com/img/icon_itunes3.gif "Cephalopodcast via iTunes")
![Download the Cephalopodcast via Odeo [80x15, 4K]](http://cephalopodcast.com/img/icon_odeo.gif "My CephalOdeo")
![Listen to the Cephalopodcast via Yahoo [120x17, 4K]](http://cephalopodcast.com/img/icon_yahoo.gif "Cephalopodcast via Yahoo")
This episode was recorded live at Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY as part of the National Marine Educators Association’s 2006 annual conference. For shownotes and additional versions of this podcast, visit the official Cephalopodcast @ NMEA2006 webpage.
New opportunities for education and outreach through easy-access Internet technology
![The Podcast Aquatic first slide [200x150, 8K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/pic/pic_060717a.gif "The Podcast Aquatic presentation")
Monday, July 17, 2006
11:15am, Room H 513
Podcasting offers schools, zoos, museums and research centers a new opportunity to create and distribute timely information to the public. Through the online distribution of syndicated audio and video content it is possible to create readily updated audio tours of aquarium exhibits, nature trails, public programs and more. Learn how to harness this new technology through a demonstration of the ever increasing and easy to use technology available for creating and distributing online video and audio content.
Thanks to everyone who attended the session. I’ll be updating this page with audio from the presentation. Below is the Keynote presentation.
Sea turtle webcast on Friday, 07/14/2006
This sounds very interesting:
On the night of July 14, 2006 , Megotta, Inc., with the cooperation and supervision of the Caribbean Conservation Corporation/Sea Turtle Survival League, will broadcast the first-ever live web cast of a nesting sea turtle in the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge.
From their website, it looks like Megotta, Inc. is located on the Florida Space Coast and is developing a business giving individuals and groups the technology needed to share educational and ecological content. It was started by graduates from Florida Tech and as part of its mission, they launched their MeGotta Careâ„¢ program. Initially they are working with local groups supporting marine ecology. Sounds pretty neat.
Additional sea turtle links
![A researcher prepares for a practice dive in the submerible Deep Sea Explorer in Monterey Harbor. Courtesy of marinephotobank.org. Reuven Walder (c) 2006 [200x150, 12K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/pic/pic_060712_Walder.jpg "A researcher prepares for a practice dive in the submerible Deep Sea Explorer in Monterey Harbor. Courtesy of marinephotobank.org. Reuven Walder (c) 2006")
It’s a little too far for me to make it, but the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute is having an open house this Saturday, 07/15/2006. If you are in the area, it definitely seems worth checking out.
The 2006 MBARI open house will feature science and technology exhibits, displays of deep-sea video from Monterey Bay, research presentations, children’s activities, and ocean career information. MBARI staff, scientists, and engineers will share their excitement about the institute’s work with the public.
MBARI is famous for it’s ROV-based, deep-sea reseach off the California coast. It was founded in 1987 by David Packard (of Hewlett-Packard Company fame) as a private, not-for-profit oceanographic research center. But don’t confuse the MBARI with the Monterey Bay Aquarium. While closely tied, they are separate entities.
Also, for more deep-sea news check out the Deep-Sea News blog, maintained in part by Craig McClain at MBARI.
What are the chances they’ll salvage the Calypso for this?
Using state-of-the-art technology and accompanied by marine scientists and ecologists, Jean-Michel Cousteau and his acclaimed diving teams explore a thrilling array of natural phenomena hundreds of feet beneath the ocean’s surface in Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures, a Web site and multi-part HDTV series premiering on PBS Wednesday, April 5 at 8 p.m. (check broadcast listings).
![Pineapple-upside-up Birthday Cake [150x200, 4K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/pic/pic_070212b_pineappleupsidedownbirthdaycake.jpg "This is the pineapple-upside-up cake my wife baked to celebrate.")
![NMEA 2006 Conference logo [200x234, 14K]](http://www.cephalopodcast.com/img/nmea2006.gif "NMEA 2006 Conference logo")
Jason Robertshaw
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