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The 31st annual Coast Day will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 7, rain or shine, at the Hugh R. Sharp Campus on Pilottown Road in Lewes. Admission to Coast Day is free, and parking is $2.
“No matter where we live, we all have a connection to the ocean,” said Nancy Targett, dean of the University of Delaware (UD) College of Marine and Earth Studies and Delaware Sea Grant director.
“Coast Day is a wonderful opportunity for the public to learn about the research happening at UD related to this resource that touches all of our lives in so many ways.” Targett hopes visitors will learn more about the ocean and coast and their importance locally and globally, saying, “Coast Day is the perfect day to celebrate Delaware’s ocean and coastal resources.”
A special ceremony recognizing the 2007 Governor’s Marine and Aquatic Science Teacher of the Year will take place at 11:30 a.m. at the bandstand. Donald Ott, who teaches fourth and fifth grade at Lulu Ross Elementary School in Milford, will receive the award.
In addition, the winners of the annual Fifth-Grade Student Essay Contest and their teachers will be announced. The essay contest is designed to create ocean and coastal awareness in students throughout the state.
Two lecture series will take place throughout the day. The Ocean Science Lecture Series will include discussions on topics such as offshore wind power and exploration of shipwrecks in the Black Sea. The Coastal Connection Lecture Series includes a lecture called “Fish Watch: Helping Consumers Become Seafood Savvy,” about a web site aimed at helping people make sound choices about seafood.
The Coastal Connection Lecture Series also includes the lecture “Delaware’s Storm Ready Program,” which focuses on a program that helps communities guard themselves against weather-related disasters. Two screenings of the movie “The ’62 Storm - Delaware’s Shared Response” also have been scheduled.
Demonstrations happening throughout the day include “Walk Your Watershed” in Room 104 of Cannon Laboratory, where attendees can learn about their own watersheds and see how they are connected to the coast. Cannon and Smith laboratories and tents in between the two buildings will house many scientists and guest lecturers giving presentations on topics ranging from ocean life at 1.7 miles below the ocean surface to oyster filtration.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will have a tent featuring scientists and educators who will offer a variety of hands-on learning activities, including opportunities to build a shark or horseshoe crab model.
The schedule also includes favorite activities from years past for children of all ages and seafood lovers alike (see sidebars).
A number of businesses, industries and organizations are sponsoring special exhibits and events at Coast Day, including NOAA and DuPont Clear into the Future.
Coast Day is sponsored by the University of Delaware College of Marine and Earth Studies and the Delaware Sea Grant College Program. For more information, contact the university’s Marine Public Education Office at 302-831-8083, or visit the Coast Day web site at ocean.udel.edu/coastday
A.J. Meerwald to dock in Lewes
New Jersey’s Tall Ship, the A.J. Meerwald, will be in Lewes Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 6 and 7, for Boast the Coast and Coast Day. The Meerwald, a restored 1928 Delaware Bay oyster schooner operated by the not-for-profit educational organization Bayshore Discovery Project, will be at the Lewes City Dock for deck tours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.
At 5:30 p.m. Saturday the Meerwald will participate in the annual Boast the Coast Lighted Boat Parade, and tickets for a 2 1/2 hour cruise aboard the ship are available for $35. This is a unique way to see the parade and the beautiful Lewes Harbor.
Passengers are also welcome on the sails from Bivalve, N.J., to Lewes on Friday evening, Oct. 5, and from Lewes back to Bivalve on Sunday, Oct. 7, at 5 p.m. These are one-way trips.
For reservations or more information, call the Bayshore Discovery Project at office 856-785-2060, Ext. 100.
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Coast Day to feature wide array of kids activities
Children of all ages will have an opportunity to “Make a Coastal Connection” at this year’s Coast Day, Sunday, Oct. 7. University of Delaware professors, graduate students, other College of Marine and Earth Studies representatives, and visitors from organizations such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will engage kids with activities and exhibits including the Amazing Invertebrate Showcase and a demonstration on the sounds of coastal fish.
Families can kick off their day with an event called Ask the Oceanographer at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Cannon Laboratory Lobby. Doug Miller, associate professor of oceanography, will be on hand to field all types of questions from curious Coast Day kids and parents. At noon, the Great Crab Race will be held in the tent behind Cannon Laboratory by Charles E. Epifanio, professor of marine biology and biochemistry, and his students.
Visitors can bring their own crab lures or use the bait provided by researchers at the event. Additional races will be held at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Epifanio and students in his research team will offer hands-on demonstrations on feeding blue crabs, providing information on how the crabs live and what they eat at 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. in Room 121 of Cannon Laboratory.
Additional events include a demonstration on fly-fishing given by the Salt Water Fly Anglers of Delaware behind Smith Lab from noon to 2 p.m. Coast Day visitors also can stop by the sponsor tent area to meet Professor Green, DuPont Clear into the Future’s multimedia robotic educator. Professor Green will teach children how to protect the planet on which they live.
The Amazing Invertebrate Showcase, led by Miller and his students, will be held in Room 125A of Cannon Laboratory. Children will learn how organisms such as snails, worms and crabs are being used in the research of marine-related issues. Cannon and Smith laboratories, and exhibit tents between the two buildings, will house a number of displays including an overview of how scientists use fossilized shells of marine organisms to reconstruct the history of the ocean and a presentation about life 1.7 miles below the ocean’s surface.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will offer a tent where children can check out a weather balloon, build a model of a shark, make a fish print and try their hand at marine mammal origami. They can even try on a “gumby” survival suit. The Delaware Sea Grant College Program with support from the Marine Education, Research and Rehabilitation Institute will offer a touch tank and marine mammal exhibit.
Also, the university’s geology club will offer fossil painting and “prospecting” for rocks and minerals. For more information, contact the UD Marine Public Education Office at 302-831-8083, or visit the Coast Day website at www.ocean.udel.edu/coastday
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