Marine and Environmental Science Camp

Florida Tech August 6, 2014

Florida Tech’s Department of Marine and Environmental Systems presents a camp for students aged 10 and up.

Marine and Environmental Science Camp is a five-day experience where students can explore Brevard county’s unique marine life. Students have the opportunity to experiment with organisms in the Indian River Lagoon and other bodies of water, due to Florida Tech’s close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.

Through hands-on activities, students will learn about beach processes and consequences of nourishment, the roles of seagrass beds and mangroves as habitats, the overall importance of conservation in marine life and much more!

Students take a boat ride to a nearby spoil island adopted by the Department of Marine and Environmental Systems. They help plant mangroves and prepare the land so the native plants and animals inhabiting it can thrive.

Conservation is a large portion of the curriculum because so much marine life is in danger of being unprotected.

A recycle regatta is held to keep students on their feet, and help them think of innovative solutions that promote conservation. After understanding the importance of buoyancy and ship design, students make sailboats out of recycled materials to race in the Florida Tech fluid mechanics wave tank.

Keep Brevard Beautiful will teach the negative impact of trash on local beaches, and students will get to see the positive effects of conservation when they watch sea turtles nesting! They then will participate in a beach clean-up and spend a “beach day” equipped with a scavenger hunt as well as, of course, lots of swimming.

Marine and Environmental Science camp shows students that marine science is not all biology, but a combination of all sciences. The goal is to create a fun and educational camp that leaves students with a well-rounded and applied understanding of how the science they learn in the classroom can be used in conserving the environment.