Discovery Labs 6-8pm (FREE, open to the public and for all ages!)

Registration required!!  Visit http://tethys.vims.edu/events/registration.cfm to sign up.

CBNERRVA will continue its series of Discovery Labs in the Catlett-Burress Research and Education Teaching lab this winter (map - #132 on VIMS campus map). Each Discovery Lab will focus on a specific topic of interest and will include both research, displays, and hands-on activities for kids and adults of all ages. Discovery Labs are free and appropriate for all ages. Contact Sarah McGuire, 804-684-7878 for more information. 

Topics:

• September 15, 2009 - Technology: GPS, Buoys, Robots, and more!

Many different forms of technology are used to get a complete picture when studying the Chesapeake Bay.  At this discovery lab, you will have a chance to see how this technology works and try your hand at it.  We'll have a buoy building competition, complete a geocache using hand-held GPS units, and build underwater robots.  Remotely operated vehicles (ROV's) are tethered underwater robots used to take pictures, gather samples, or even use sonar underwater.  Participants will use PVC pipe to build and test out their own ROV in a small pool.  Join us for a fun, hands-on evening of children's activities, information, and a short speaker on ROV's

• October 22, 2009 - The Mad Lab Returns: Lurking in the Shadows!

***Please note that this lab is on a Thursday instead of Tuesday - date change

Join us for the 3rd Annual Mad Lab!  Visit our "spooky" lab and study animals that lurk in the shadows of the Chesapeake Bay.  Examples of animals we will focus on are gar, snapping turtles, oyster toadfish, and bowfins.  PhD student, Pat McGrath will be our speaker for the evening.  Join us for a fun, spooky hands-on evening of children's activities, information, and a short speaker on a variety of Bay animals.  The lab will be in full Halloween decor and feel free to wear your Halloween costume and participate in the costume contest.

**The Discovery Lab Series is made possible in part by the Christopher Wren Association. 

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Teacher Collection Day - September 20, 2009 2 pm - 5 pm

Registration required!!  Email Sarah McGuire to sign up.

Want to set up an aquarium in your classroom but don’t know how or where to collect the critters for it?  The Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Virginia is holding a Flounder Collection day at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science on Sunday, September 20, 2009 from 2 pm - 5 pm. CBNERRVA education staff will provide use of collection gear (seine nets, dip nets, etc), instruction on easy vs. difficult species to keep in aquaria, and feeding strategies for collected flounder.  Learn about CBNERRVA flounder experiment piloted in Gloucester and Mathews counties 7th grade classrooms that you can conduct in your classroom.  Collect all the critters you’d like plus water to fill your tanks!  Bring several excited students with you to help in pulling the nets and getting critters if you would like.

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Summer Science Camp Opportunities 2009

CBNERRVA is excited to announce its Summer Science Camp Opportunities for 2009 taking place at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science!  Camps include:

Wetland Waders - Rising 1st and 2nd Grade **FULL

Bay Savers - Rising 3rd and 4th Grade **FULL

Bay Tech - Rising 5th and 6th Grade **FULL

CBI: Chesapeake Bay Investigators - Rising 7th and 8th Grade **FULL

Chesapeake Bay Explorers - Rising 7th and 8th Grade **FULL

Please see flyer for more information. To register for 1st-4th grade camps, go here.  To apply for 5th-8th grade camps, go here. The deadline to apply for the 5th-8th grade camps is April 17th!  Registration for the 1st-4th grade camps is first come, first serve.

All programs are free!  All camps run from 9am-4pm at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, except Chesapeake Bay Explorers which will be at the Eastern Shore Lab in Wachapreague, VA and we will leave Monday morning and return Friday afternoon.