Discover the critical role sea otters play in the nearshore ecosystem during the Seymour Center’s virtual Sea Otter Awareness Week. Special at-home activities, lectures, interviews with scientists, and crafts will highlight sea otters’ natural history, reveal conservation issues facing these marine mammals, and so much more. Virtual Sea Otter Awareness Week is September 20-26, 2020.
Sea Otter Science
Science Sunday: Sharing Space with Sea Otters
Sunday, September 20, 2020, 1:30 PM PDT
Join the Seymour Center online on Sunday, September 20, 2020, at 1:30 PM PDT to learn more about sea otter biology and conservation from Gena Bentall, founder and chief scientist at Sea Otter Savvy. For more information and to register in advance for the webinar (required), please visit their Science Sunday page.
Counting Sea Otters: In the Field During the Sea Otter Census
Tuesday, September 22, 2020, 11:00 AM PDT
Watch a LIVE 20-minute conversation highlighting the sea otter census with Joe Tomoleoni, biologist and southwest region dive safety officer with the US Geological Survey, on Tuesday, September 22, 2020, at 11:00 AM PDT. Understand why a sea otter census is important, what it’s like in the field during a census, and the implications the census reveals on sea otter population recovery and conservation.
Labside Chats
Thursday, September 24, 2020, 11:00 AM PDT
Tune in for an exclusive Sea Otter Awareness Week Labside Chat to explore how sea otters navigate the underwater world. Join them as they talk with Sarah McKay Strobel, Ph.D., from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz, on Thursday, September 24, 2020, at 11:00 AM PDT.
Sea Otter Crafts
How Do Sea Otters Keep Warm?
LIVE At-Home DIY Experiment
Friday, September 25, 2020, 11:00 AM PDT
Follow along with this LIVE at-home DIY experiment on Friday, September 25, 2020, at 11:00 AM PDT to discover how sea otters keep warm in chilly ocean waters and the associated challenges. Watch to learn why sea otters are unique, and how their insulation method compares with other mammals such as seals, sea lions, and humans—then try the experiment out for yourself!
To prepare for this experiment you will need:
- a large bowl filled with ice and water
- five freezer Ziploc bags (quart-size or larger)
- Crisco or shortening (sticks preferred)
- bubble wrap
- duct tape
- hand towel
Color a Sea Otter
Color a diving sea otter that lives in a kelp forest—like you would find in the Monterey Bay just outside of the Seymour Center!
Sea Otter Coloring Page – PDF (available during Sea Otter Awareness Week)
For more information on making Santa Cruz your next home, visit my website, petecullen.com or shoot me an email at pete@petecullen.com
Comments(5)