Dauphin Island Adventure

Every year, February's calendar ends up packed to the gills, and this year is no exception. Aside from the standard pinewood derby race preparation for Cub Scouts, and merit badge fairs for Boy Scouts, this month featured a middle school excursion to Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) sandwiched between two math competitions. The first math competition was last Saturday. My oldest son placed 8th in individual performance in the pre-algebra group, out of some 80-100 students, to earn his first individual trophy in his first ever math tournament. He was the sole representative of his school (which doesn't have a middle school math team) out of 22 schools in his division. He is out again this morning, competing in a MathCounts event, again as a sole representative for his school. While he is off doing that, I'm assisting my younger son on his derby car and other Cub Scout work.

The big event of the week, however, was the 4-day, 3 night adventure to Dauphin Island. Officially called a field study, the middle school sends 7th graders down to this small island in Mobile Bay in Alabama. From here, it is about an 9 hour drive by bus, with stops. I served as a chaperone for my son and 68 other 7th graders, and not only did I manage to survive, I actually managed to enjoy the experience (although as an aside, I must confess that the social drama of 13 year olds is really something to behold - I didn't understand it when I was that age, and I don't understand it now).

The students participate in two full days of scientific discussion and activity, pertaining specifically to the unique ecology of the Mobile Bay estuary (all together now, an estuary is where fresh water systems and salt water systems meet). Activities include a trip out into the open waters of the Mississippi Sound and the Gulf of Mexico on board a DISL research vessel, several lectures on the marine and marsh life, a visit to the estuarium, a trip into the salt marsh, and the dissection of a squid. Also included is a look into the history of Dauphin Island and Mobile Bay, with a unique focus on the history of Fort Gaines and its sister forts Powell and Morgan (the site of the decisive Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864). For history buffs, this is the battle where Farragut is reputed to have proclaimed "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"

The DISL program was really very good. My favorite, not surprisingly, was the few hours we spent on the research vessel. The vessel crew cast a net and trawled for a while, pulling in a variety of marine life specimens that the instructor used to educate the fully engaged students. While the trip itself only lasted a couple of hours, I could have stayed out on the water all day. Being on the water does me good, no matter where it is.

Below are a few other pictures of the trip. From the salt marsh:

Inside Fort Gaines:

Of course, I would be remiss if I failed to mention the wildlife adventure that was the boys hallway in our dormitory. Then again, perhaps I should simply be remiss. The species known as the teenage boy is something to behold. By and large though, they are good kids, and I enjoyed getting to know them. One last picture, to remember the all too brief moments of serenity: