Welcome to Boston, home of some amazing science educators and home base of the 2024 National Marine Educators Association Conference! For my second year at this conference, I was so excited to get to see the friends I made last year and experience the beauty that is Boston Harbor!
Much like last year, I was visiting a new domain (literally anywhere north), and I was thrilled that the humidity and heat was much less oppressive here than back home in South Florida. This year the conference itself was at Boston University where I, again, stayed on campus this time rooming with my mentor and colleague Charlene of the Navarre Beach Marine Science Station. From getting to the dorm to going to the first welcome event of the weekend I already felt at home. Walking into the campus and seeing friends from Oregon, Louisiana, and Georgia made everything so cozy and fun. It’s really an amazing experience to know and have people the I can be with and have fun with during this conference, it makes the travel and being away from home so much easier.
For this conference every night was truly a night to remember, from dinner at the New England Aquarium where we got to see some of the amazing exhibits and view the harbor from outside the back door, to the auction night with Bailey from Georgia Aquarium crushing the auctioneering job, to the ship out on the harbor where we got to see much of historic Boston from the forts to the beautiful islands and mainland areas. These opportunities that NMEA provides gives us time and chances to connect with each other and make lifelong friendships that could change the course of our careers or just give us chances we might not have had before to grow as a person.
NMEA truly has some amazing presenters that always make me want to bring everything I learned back with me to the classroom, from learning where to find solid data to make new curriculum with to learning about organizations literally down the road from me that I could bring to the classroom to speak to my students, every opportunity and every presentation is valuable and worthwhile. My own presentation this year was just as much of a success as last year, with much it being focused on how and why to incorporate this method of teaching into the classroom.
My presentation focused on estuary education and making students into Estuary Ambassadors through local animal connections in the classroom. The amount of people there that were enthusiastic about getting involved or bringing these ideas into their own classrooms focusing on different ecosystems was so inspiring. And hearing from multiple attendees how engaging I am as a presenter was so heartwarming and encouraging, I still think about it and smile. You can find my presentation and other general information at https://sharkyshenanigans.com/estuary-ambassadors/ where many resources and information can be found that helps to create this same idea in your own classroom.
The last day was of course, field trip day, and this year I got to visit the world renowned and historical Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. This field trip was truly astounding. From getting to see the estuary at Falmouth to getting to experience the new buildings and innovations that WHOI uses in their facilities (like getting to touch Orpheus the ROV that goes down to the bottom of the freaking ocean!!!!), and even getting to see the historic town that Woods Hole is and seeing how WHOI has built their facility inside this amazing little town, where every other building is part of the institute and builds upon the idea that marine facilities and their communities can and should go hand in hand.
Overall, this is truly my favorite conference, everyone is welcoming and helpful and warm, and we all have one goal in mind, bettering the world through marine science education. It’s rare to see a conference that is made to be deeper, made to build beyond the surface level, but this one takes every chance it gets to make connections and build relationships with its members and make us all more excited and ready for the next chapter in marine science history. I can’t wait for round 3 in Lafayette, Louisiana in 2025!
