Written by: Jovan Hayes. November 2021
This November, we at the FAU Marine Lab took advantage of the opportunity to head to downtown West Palm Beach and participate in this year’s Lagoonfest. This is an annual event held in reverence and celebration of the beautiful Lake Worth Lagoon (pictures included)! Underneath our tent, we brought many educated minds to help answer the public’s questions, and we also showcased some of our research specimens including shark teeth, satellite tags for fish and sharks, sea turtle shells, and expired sea turtles.
During our time at Lagoonfest many interested members of the public stopped by and asked us their questions. This gave us ample opportunities to foster healthy dialogue about some of the research done here. Whether it was questions about how fish get tagged, how we collect the expired turtles, or how climate change affects the sex ratios of the sea turtles we study. There was always not only logic, but respect and compassion built into these conversations. These conversations were not specific to any one age group, no siree! Whether it was a young child or retired adults, we had everything from bite-sized master classes to full-blown conversations that would satisfy even the most curious of minds. In a nutshell, we had a wonderful time engaging the public, generating interest and awareness about the work we do, and we sincerely hope to do it again next year!
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