The Skinny on Whales, by Land and Sea
Grace Dornoff had seen gray whales only in photos or in movies until she spotted one up close Saturday during a workshop for teachers at the Orange County Marine Institute.
A teacher at Rivera Middle School in Los Angeles County, Dornoff said: “I wanted to see one in person. I really hoped I would see one. But when the whale surfaced, it was so amazing I couldn’t believe it. The whale surfaced, breathed, went back under, then surfaced again. It was quite lovely.”
Dornoff and other teachers, while excited about seeing the whale while aboard the R/V Sea Explorer, were even more interested in showing their students what they learned back on land in the hands-on workshop, “Oceans of Discovery: Whales and Technology.”
One exhibit included a simulation in which each teacher would dip two fingers--one coated with lard, the other without coating--into icy water. The experiment was intended to illustrate how the whale’s blubber protects it from various elements in the ocean.
“It was pretty interesting,” said Chris Yellin, a teacher at Santiago Elementary in Santa Ana. “I got so much information that I will be able to share with my fifth-graders in the classroom. The workshop has been extremely motivating and I even found out good information that I can get about whales on the Internet.”
More than 100 teachers attended the workshop, which also included tips on ways they could get kids interested in tracking whales, such as keeping a whale-watching journal.
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One speaker, Brent Stewart of Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute in San Diego, talked to the workshop participants about J.J., a gray whale rescued during last year’s migration. When rescued, J.J. weighed about 1,700 pounds; today, she is up to 17,000 pounds.
Researchers have attached a satellite tracking device to J.J., and after she is released from the institute at some point during the northbound migration of gray whales, scientists will follow her progress for about a year.
Sponsored by Boeing, workshop exhibits included information on identification and classification of whales; whale migration and tracking; and measuring the physical and chemical characteristics of sea water.
Harry Helling, associate executive director of the institute, said, “There is a need, across the nation, for teacher in-service training in the sciences. . . . We want teachers to be excited about what they are in teaching because in turn, kids will be excited about what they are learning.”
Whale-watching season typically begins near the end of December and ends in late March. During that time, whales migrate along the Pacific coast to warm-water lagoons off Baja California to breed and give birth.
