Author: Kristan Reynolds and Sam Trail
Date: May 19, 2025
This spring our Glenn W. & Cornelia T. Bailey Marine SEA Scholars traveled to Morikami Park Elementary School and the Advent School for Career Days! We see many students and school field trips pass through our visitors’ gallery at the Gumbo Limbo Environmental Complex, but it was a unique experience to bring the science we do directly to the students’ classrooms! Graduate SEA Scholars Kristan Reynolds and Sam Trail share their Career Day stories below.
Talking with the second graders at Morikami Park Elementary School was an amazing experience! Fellow SEA Scholars Dr. Chelsea Bennice, Brynna Fisher, and I were given a home-base classroom where full classes of students came to us in rotations every 30 minutes. We used our 30 minutes to share what we do at the FAU Marine Lab and to explore basic marine science facts about sea turtles, sharks, and octopuses. I covered the sea turtle section and had so much fun educating the second graders with sea turtle facts. My favorite part of the experience was getting to see the passion and wonder about marine science that filled these students’ minds. They are the future stewards of our Earth, and it is so inspiring to see such enthusiasm and thoughtful questions from them.
When speaking with the students, one of my main goals was to match their energy. I made sure to allow them to actively participate in the discussion through questions and examples. When teaching them about the green sea turtle, we showed them a picture of a hatchling green sea turtle, with its tuxedo-like appearance of black on the carapace (top shell) and the white on their plastron, or underside (bottom shell). Upon seeing this appearance, I asked the students if the turtle looked green, to which they excitedly yelled, “no!” We then joked about how whoever named the green sea turtle must have been crazy before I told them that the “green” in green sea turtle actually refers to parts of their insides. As they get older, their diet mainly consists of seagrass and other marine plants (which are green), and it turns the fat inside their body into a greenish-yellow color – hence their name!
Beyond questions, students also enjoyed the interactive opportunity to touch both models and real displays of marine life that we brought to the classroom. They thought our hatchling 3D-printed models were adorable. The students’ eyes shined with awe as they touched a preserved juvenile green sea turtle shell.
Brynna and I took particular joy in observing one student while going through rotations. He wore a bright red shirt and stood with his mouth wide open and his hands on top of his head for most of our presentation. I remember feeling this same level of excitement towards marine life when I was a child! He also made sure to remember our names and say goodbye to us when we left the school. He left a lasting impression on us, and I hope we did the same for him – perhaps he is a budding marine biologist of tomorrow!
I came away from this experience with a true appreciation for the power of science communication to inspire audiences of all ages towards marine education and stewardship.
We were gathered in the gymnasium gearing up, not for game time, but…speed dating? Well, kind of! An unconventional Career Day at the Advent School was structured a bit like speed dating, but instead of trying to find your perfect match in a partner, middle schoolers were learning about careers that might be a good fit for them in the future! Let’s call it...speed “science!”
Tables dispersed throughout the gym were not labeled with numbers but instead, job titles and various materials brought by career professionals. Volunteers representing 18 different careers, ranging from labor and delivery nurses and dog trainers to firefighters and pharmacists, sat on one side of each of their respective tables and three empty chairs were positioned on the other. Students were then able to sit with professionals for about 15-20 minutes until we all heard “switch!” and students stood up and found a new table of their choice for several rounds. Students had some standard “ice breaker” questions about education, training, salary, and what a “typical day” might look like. However, this unique setup allowed students and career professionals to delve deeper and discuss topics relevant to each student.
I sat at the table labeled “Marine Biologist” with fellow SEA Scholars Gabby Carvajal and Chamarea Dera. The three of us only represented a small sampling of what a career in marine biology might look like, but we were all able to offer a unique and broad perspective. Although both Ph.D. students, Gabby studies molecular processes and tools to determine sea turtle hatchling sex ratios, while I study the significance of how sea turtles are shaped and those relationships to movement, so our answers about a “typical day” were quite different. Chamarea was able to offer an even different perspective as an undergraduate newly involved in marine science, hoping to one day continue her studies in veterinary school.
It wasn’t too difficult to entice students with our preserved loggerhead skull and 3D models to come see what we brought, so our table rarely had an empty seat. We spoke with students that knew they had a vested interest in becoming marine biologists (a group of students were even heading to the Florida Keys the following weekend as part of the school’s Marine Biology Club)! But just as rewarding, we spoke with students that had not considered marine biology as a career before that day. A student that loved fishing and was certain he wanted to be a boat captain, now saw marine biology as career path that was not mutually exclusive to his original, steadfast plan.
It was a wonderful opportunity to let students drive the conversation and ask us questions a few years before committing to their future career path. I did not know I would be a marine biologist when I was in middle school. If I understood curiosity was the main ingredient of the job description, I may have made up my mind a little sooner. I like to think we opened a few middle school minds to those possibilities!
If you would like to hear from our SEA Scholars and researchers at the FAU Marine Lab, swing by our visitors’ gallery at the Gumbo Limbo Environmental Complex or check out our events calendar for upcoming outreach events!
