The Skinny on Whales, by Land and Sea
DANA POINT — 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.â€
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.â€
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.â€
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.â€
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.
