Above: Isabelle with a horseshoe crab

We started our day off with a healthy breakfast provided by our fantastic steward, Jared. It consisted of fried eggs and a mix of sweet potatoes and potatoes. After eating, we headed to the Madden Center for our first class of the day with Maia Theophanis and learned about graphical analysis and data visualization. We then had leadership class with Liz Maloney where we participated in several activities and learned about different leadership strategies.

Following lunch, we packed all of our beach sampling gear into the vans and headed to Woodneck beach and marsh. While we were there we separated into our groups and collected data. The biology group found some interesting organisms including horseshoe crabs, bloodworm, sea robins, hermit crabs, and pipefish. We were also given time to explore the marsh and collect more data. We made a pitstop back at campus to drop off some people, but we then headed off to Racing Beach for free time.

We encountered many non-stinging comb jellyfish, and some students even ate some! Gwen Roode was one of the students that stayed and decided to help prepare dinner. The students ended their day with tacos and an admissions counselor’s lecture from Boston University. This action-packed day helped conclude the beach data analysis for the upcoming presentations.

- Kelly Logan, Shoreham Wading-River Highschool & Diego Carrillo, Urbana, IL-Urbana High School