Blog – Page 3 – Sharky Shenanigans

The Rising Tide: Understanding Red Tide Algal Blooms in Sarasota, FL

by Savanna Finley March 15, 2023July 16, 2023Comments are Disabled

In the beautiful coastal city of Sarasota, Florida, there’s an unwelcome visitor that occasionally sweeps across the emerald waters of the Gulf of Mexico: Red Tide. Known scientifically as Karenia brevis, these microorganisms are single-celled, naturally occurring algae. However, when they bloom in unusually high concentrations, they can have devastating impacts on marine life and …

Sea Hare Serendipity

by Savanna Finley February 28, 2023July 13, 2023Comments are Disabled

Aristotle once theorized that living creatures could arise from nonliving matter and that this process was common. He hypothesized that maggots could arise from dead flesh and fleas come from dust. According to Aristotle, the generation of things like sea shells varies with the sea bed. Slime gave rise to oysters, sand to scallops, and …

Women in STEM Day 2023

by Savanna Finley February 12, 2023February 16, 2023One Comment

When I think back to when I decided to become a marine biologist, I fondly remember my high school marine science teacher. She was a biologist, just getting out of school and looking for a place to grow for a while. She took on this class and tried so hard to make it wonderful and …

Oysters! Partnering with Local Industry

by Savanna Finley February 4, 2023February 16, 2023Comments are Disabled

Oysters. What’s the first thing you think of when you think of oysters? Pearls? Food? Slimy and gross? That time you cut your foot on one when you were a kid playing in the bay and how much it hurt when your grandmother poured all of the rubbing alcohol in the world on it? That …

Backyard Explorer (Southwest Florida Edition)

by Savanna Finley January 11, 2023February 16, 2023Comments are Disabled

When going outside, do you ever take a moment to look around and see all the amazing plants and animals that inhabit your local area? While you can (and should) take some time to discover your own backyard wherever you are, we wanted to take a moment to show you just how amazing the area …

National Geographic Educator Certification

by Savanna Finley August 16, 2022February 16, 2023Comments are Disabled

For the past 3 months I have been working on an educator certification through National Geographic. Starting with the basics I learned about this certification through a classmate of mine who was doing some work in informal education and thought it would be a fun way for me to learn how to incorporate some new …

Local Science in the Classroom

by Savanna Finley March 23, 2022February 16, 2023Comments are Disabled

Have you ever had a student ask you why what they were learning mattered to them? Or if they would ever use this in their lives? I feel like I used to get this question all the time. I still do sometimes when what we are learning is difficult to relate to my students on …

Dissections

by Savanna Finley February 1, 2022February 16, 2023Comments are Disabled

I love starting an animal unit off with a dissection. Why, may you ask? What better way to understand how an organism works than by first looking at and inquiring about its internal and external anatomy!

Devil Rays and Spontaneous Education

by Savanna Finley October 7, 2021February 16, 2023Comments are Disabled

One of my favorite things to do is to talk to people I meet out in the world about the ocean or animals or really anything marine related. I recently went back up to the Northwest coast of Florida to see family, the waters were crystal clear, and a beautiful teal and the water sparkled …