Narrator: Welcome to MarineQuest. This annual open house
at FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg
has evolved into a three day event
that includes two days of MarineQuest School Daze.
It’s a fun, free, hands-on field trip
for students in grades four through eight.
"He's got a big mouth, everybody see those teeth at the top?"
"His teeth won't let it get out without even chewing it up."
Narrator: Exhibits and lab stations manned by FWRI scientists (Kids laugh)
draw students into the world of fish and wildlife research.
"And all along the wall here are different types of plankton."
"Scales?"
"Shark skin right, you see the texture of it ..."
Narrator: Researchers use demonstrations and activities
to explain individual research projects.
"So what we're doing is we're tracking the performance of our hatchery
by DNA analysis."
"Alright so lets each person get a fish ...
Apply that tip so you're gonna grab a tip ..."
Narrator: What better way to help young people understand
the complexity of the issues that face Florida’s natural environments.
"Some types of bacteria, put them under a black light and they'll glow."
"So we have to regulate commercial shell fish."
"And on the screen over here you can see this actually red tide cells."
Narrator: MarineQuest School Daze draws almost 2,000 students.
"This is actually a habitat area for a ton of animal life
is hanging out in all these sea grass beds."
"And we're going to pretend we're in a water column here
so as we go deeper in the water
different wavelengths absorb at different depths."
Narrator: A School Daze field trip to MarineQuest
might just shape the future of a top notch biologist.
"Whooo ... cool. I'm looking at this ..."
"You'll see a little tiny tag by his tail.
You guys look and see it on the tip of this guy's finger right here?"
(beep) "I've got a bunch of un-tagged fish."
"See...? I told ya."
"We had three fish."
"It's just to help him flip over.
And when they're on their back, you see these front two legs?"
" ... spider crab ... spider crab..."
"This is a spider crab.
You can tell male from female the same way, right on the bottom."
"Allright, electricity on."
"If you leave the electricity on long enough
it will eventually lose conciousness."
"The important thing to notice is how quickly they recovered."
"Now we know more about this fish.
We know how much it grew in the length of time it was free."
"We know how much it weighs. If a fisherman catches this fish ..."
"Instead of claws these lobsters have whips or antennae.
So we call these one or the other and they're kind of like a rose bush.
It has very delicate eyes ... it has great eyesight."
"Like a lobster." "Why's he clicking at you?"
Narrator: The final day of MarineQuest is the Institute’s open house
and the public’s invited for a day of free fun for the whole family.
"All kinds of stuff to do inside and out."
Narrator: Outside are numerous displays and interactive stations
with nearly thirty local and national organizations on hand.
"We go out and we sample the fish out in Tampa Bay."
"See his stripe? That's how you know that's a snook."
"It's a Goliath Grouper. They can reach four hundred pounds."
"There he is!" (cheers)
"Oh and a sea biscuit, right?"
"Can it move?" "It will." "Oh, cool."
"Touch it?"
"Yea. It's his mouth.?
Narrator: There is face painting.
Kids create their own artwork
using the age-old practice of gyotaku, or fish printing.
"Now we're going to flip it upside down ..."
Narrator: And there' s wildlife origami.
Kids make whales, frogs, cranes, and of course, fish.
"There you go, good job." "Look at the fish you made!" "That's awesome!"
Narrator: FWRI’s MarineQuest, with co-sponsors the Tampa Bay Times,
the University of South Florida St. Petersburg,
and the City of St. Petersburg.
"Yep ... less than a day old."
"You can even play the Guitar Fish if you want ... allright!"
Narrator: We’ll count on seeing you at MarineQuest.