Virtual Research Mission blogs

Posted on January 9, 2018 by whaleweb

Celebration of Conservation and Creep into the DEEPEND Seamails™

Welcome Teachers. This month we’re posting some of the Seamails and activities from our most recent Virtual Research Missions: Celebration of Conservation and Creep into the DEEPEND. We’ll post the email from the Science Team member, plus photos, videos, activities, Explorer mini-posters (bios) or other related information or links. For our programs, teachers pick and choose, mix and match the Seamails, photos, activities…etc. how ever you would like to use them with your class. (We put the blog — aka Seamail in pdf format for ease of use in the classroom.)

Here’s the first one from Dave Weller from the Celebration of Conservation: Gray Whales, Elephant Seals, and Vaquita. Enjoy

Celebration of Conservation Highlights:

TEAM GRAY WHALE

SEAMAIL: Welcome to the Celebration of Conservation from Dr. DAVE WELER
Photo: Gray Whale Mother and Calf
Photo: Gray whale mother and calf (b/w)
Photo: Spyhopping Gray Whale
Photo: Piedras Blancas Lighthouse
Photo: Piedras Blancas Lighthouse Aerial View 1
Photo: Piedras Blancas Lighthouse Aerial View 2
Mini-Poster: David Weller Ocean Explorer Mini-Poster
Activity: A Celebration of Conservation Journal
Activity: Team Gray Whale Certificate
Information: Whales
Information: Baleen Whales
Video: Baleen vs Toothed Whale Courtesy of Oregon Coast Aquarium’s Oceanscape Network

(NOTE: For classroom use only. Seamails, photos, activities and other related curricula are copyrighted and trademarked and cannot be sold, posted, repackaged, or used in any other way without written permission of WhaleTimes, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Heteropods, Postcard from the DEEPEND

Posted on December 9, 2017 by whaleweb

What does everyone want for the holidays? Postcards from the DEEPEND, of course! Throughout we’ll post a new Postcard from one of our amazing, talented, and simply fun scientists from the DEEPEND Consortium.

Merry Deep Sea or Happy Anglerfish or is it…

Kris Clark and the adorable heteropods

PDF Version Kris Clark and the adorable heteropods

It’s Slime Time!

Posted on October 17, 2017 by whaleweb

Merry…uh…Happy, no…hmmm, oh, Hooray, it’s HAGFISH DAY!!! Celebrate the anniversary of the 9th Hagfish Day Celebration with us October 18, 2017!!! Nine years of exotic, unusual, some might say ugly (we prefer beauty-challenged) ocean animals.

The beautiful hagfish.

WhaleTimes created Hagfish Day (in 2009) to celebrate the beauty of ugly. Hagfish are the perfect example. These deep-sea scavengers ooze buckets of slime. They also play an important role in their ecosystem. WhaleTimes believes repugnant and slightly revolting animals like hagfish make great role models for highlighting conservation concerns for all marine animals.
“Sometimes it seems as if ecological causes are popularity contests that exclude the less attractive and less well-known, though equally vulnerable, creatures,” said WhaleTimes Director Ruth Musgrave. “There are species in peril that kids never hear about.”

How do you celebrate Hagfish Day? Classrooms, individuals and families can participate by making Hagfish Slime, writing , make or send a Hagfish Bouquet to a friend. It’s sure to be a good slime! Below are some Hagfish Day activities if you just can’t wait to celebrate the beauty of ugly.

What makes for a great Hagfish Day star? Animals that are a combination of unusual, endangered, and beauty challenged.

2017 Hagfish Stars Unveiled

black dragonfish (Echiostoma barbatum)
Heteropods What are heteropods you might ask? According to expert Kris Clark,, “…They’re kind of like little globs of snot looking for other snot-like creatures to eat…”
Might Marine Microbes
And of course, hagfish
- Watch these amazing hagfish shared by Dr. Andrew Clark:

2017 Hagfish Day Experts: Our extraordinary ocean experts include

Andrew Clark & Hagfish Knots

Kristine Clark & Heteropods
Jose Lopez
Tracey Sutton & Dragonfish

Want to show your friends you care, but don’t have time to make a Hagfish Bouquet? Send a Happy Hagfish Day card to a friend. (Click on thumbnail photo, save, and send.)

Expert Interviews from previous Hagfish Day celebrations
Hagfish Day Stars throughout the years
Hagfish Day Activities

Creep into the DEEPEND Summer Camps Start MONDAY!

Posted on June 3, 2016 by whaleweb

Kids around the country will discover the amazing research and researchers from the DEEPEND Consortium. We are excited our Virtual Science Team includes kids and camp leaders from:

Adventure Science Center Nashville, Tennessee
Catawba Science Center Hickory, North Carolina
GulfQuest National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico Mobile Alabama
Liberty Science Center Jersey City, New Jersey
Maine Discovery Museum Bangor, Maine
Museum of Discovery and Science Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Museum of Natural History, Univ. of Colorado Boulder, Colorado
Navarre Beach Marine Science Station Navarre Beach, Florida
Oregon Coast Aquarium’s Oceanscape Network Newport, Oregon
Pacific Science Center Seattle, Washington
Science Center of Iowa Des Moines, Iowa
Tallahassee Museum Tallahassee, Florida
Univ of Michigan Museum of Natural History Ann Arbor, Michigan

Creep into the DEEPEND Summer Camps!

Posted on January 17, 2016 by whaleweb

This summer, museums and science centers throughout the country will offer WhaleTimes’ Creep into the DEEPEND summer camps! Meet our amazing DEEPEND scientists, see their photos, videos, play games, make crafts and more. Check back in to find out if your local museum will join us — or ask your local museum or science center if they’ll be offering Creep into the DEEPEND as part of their summer camp fun.

DEEPEND Consortium

Posted on September 27, 2015 by whaleweb

Creep into the DEEPEND: September 28 to October 9, 2015

Research Project: Deep-Pelagic Nekton Dynamics of the Gulf of Mexico

Students become part of the DEEPEND consortium, a group of deep-sea scientists investigating the biodiversity and distribution of animals in the Gulf of Mexico’s deep-sea ecosystem. The deep is by far the largest affected habitat from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. The consortium includes more than 30 scientists from 11 different universities and agencies, led by Dr. Tracey Sutton (Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center).

Video courtesy of the Oregon Coast Aquarium’s Oceanscape Network

A Postcard from the DEEPEND!

Posted on July 6, 2015 by whaleweb

Hi everyone,
Postcards from the DEEPEND are starting to arrive. Enjoy!
Jake, the SeaDog

Postcards from The DEEPEND #1 Welcome wblg

Hello from Tracey Sutton

Creep into the Deepend!

Posted on March 4, 2015 by whaleweb

WhaleTimes is excited to be part of the DEEPEND Project

…a consortium of amazing scientists and organizations studying the Gulf of Mexico deep sea. WhaleTimes will share that science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to you through our Creep into the Deep Virtual Research Missions, Postcards from the Deep, Taking Science Deeper Curriculum, and so much more.

Our first Postcards from the Deep…End arriving this spring.

Our first Creep into the Deep…End cruise, this fall.

Joins WhaleTimes at the DEEPEND, no floaties required!

DEEPEND research, outreach, and education funded by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. Thank you!

Learn more about the DEEPEND funding at: http://research.gulfresearchinitiative.org/research-awards/projects/?pid=257

WhaleTimes, Inc.

Ocean Science in Action!

Tag Archives: DEEPEND