One Day At The Sea - online event for kids

online; hosted by Port Townsend Public Library

Thursday, July 23

2 - 3PM

Marine Science Center Presents: One Day at the Sea! Get ready to meet some of the wacky and intriguing critters of our nearshore environment, then help tell their story! (Imagination required, accuracy not necessary.)

As part of the PT Library's Summer Reading Program, this one hour program led by Ellie Kravets, invites kids to contribute to an original story about what happens one day in the Salish Sea. Formatted as a Zoom presentation, this program is sort of like a virtual MadLibs. Kids will get prompting cards to compose their part of the story, then the whole story will be revealed. Ellie will show them real collection items representing some of the creatures in the story, and maybe kids will be able to share something from their own collections.

Get More Info and Sign Up Here!

Ages 6-12

Virtual Low Tide Walk in August!

Join us for a virtual Low Tide Walk event! Instead of our usual public programs, we’re going to be hosting a social-distancing friendly version. You can participate from home via social media during the scheduled event time, or visit a local tide pooling spot near you (while following current social distancing and recreation safety guidelines) for a self-guided experience. 

Tuesday August 18th

9 - 11 am

low tide -1.87 at 10:05am 

 

 

 

Staying home? Tune in to the Stories on our Instagram page @ptmarinescictr during the scheduled program time for broadcasts from local tidepools. Stories are visible from your mobile device or web browser if you’re logged in to Instagram; stories are visible for 24 hours after being posted, and will be saved as Highlights after that. 

Going out? Here’s a list of some local beach access/tide pooling spots - choose one close to you and make sure to follow current social distancing guidelines if you do go out. Have a back-up location in mind in case you arrive to a full or crowded parking lot (even better, walk or bike in). Remember to Leave No Trace! Take only pictures, pack out your trash if receptacles are full or unavailable. Keep in mind that in many places, restrooms are closed.   
State parks are currently open to local day-use only.  
Jefferson county parks and trails are open except: campgrounds, playgrounds, sport courts, and restrooms. 
-Fort Worden State Park (Discover Pass required)
-North Beach County Park (head either direction from parking lot)
-Boat Haven beach (limited parking at Larry Scott trailhead)
-Fort Townsend State Park (Discover Pass required)
-Fort Flagler State Park (Discover Pass required)
-Indian Island County Park (limited parking)
-Point Hudson (limited parking)

Here’s a guide on Tidepool Etiquette so you can observe good manners while you’re in the home of intertidal animals and keep them (and yourself) safe. If you find something interesting while you’re tidepooling, you can share it and tag us if you have any questions (@ptmarinescictr on Instagram). You can also post photos of animals, plants, or unknown living things to iNaturalist for identification from the community.

If you have children in your household, here’s a Tidepooling Scavenger Hunt activity to try while you’re out! 

Tide pooling at Kinzie Beach in Fort Worden State Park

Join our Plastic Free July Challenge!!

Plastic Free July is a global movement with the goal of helping individuals refuse single use plastics! This movement provides us with the opportunity to look at what we are throwing away and see how we can do better! Join us for weekly challenges throughout the month of July and see what improvements you can make. Let’s be part of the solution, together!

How it works: Starting July 1st, challenges will be posted weekly spanning Wednesday to Wednesday. With each challenge, we will provide extra resources and community inspirations to help build your waste-free future.

We encourage you to get creative and to send us photos! Either tag us on Instagram or Facebook, or email them to us at mjohnson@ptmsc.org! We want to see how you are taking on these challenges!! Let’s inspire each other!

Follow along on our Instagram, or our Facebook event Plastic Free July: PTMSC Edition!

Let’s get started!!

Week 1 (July 1^st-7^th): Let’s take a look…

Alright - let’s see how much plastic you throw away in a week! For this challenge, we want you to collect your weeks’ worth of plastic waste. It’s easy, just pick a corner, set it aside, and watch it grow. Next Tuesday after you have collected your plastics, fill out this google form. Our ‘experts’ at PTMSC will compile this data and analyze what we as a community struggle with in regards to waste. This will also provide a personal baseline for your own waste weaknesses and provide a focus for your lifestyle changes during Week 2!

How:

Pro tip: To avoid smell or mess, you 
can place your plastics in a separate
sealable container.

Collect it: Start by separating all of your plastic waste this week from recyclable materials (i.e. glass/paper) and food scraps. This means things like chip bags, candy wrappers, bottles, food containers and anything else you happen to use. This also includes the plastics you would normally recycle!

Count it: At the end of the week, fill in our google form to categorize what exactly you are throwing away so that you can identify what types of plastic you come across most often.

Capture it: Have a picture of your pile of trash? Snap a #TrashieSelfie of you and your pile of trash. Share it on social media by tagging us @ptmarinescictr and using the hashtag #plasticfreeptmsc2020, or email it us at mjohnson@ptmsc.org.

Disclaimer: The goal isn’t to have the biggest pile but bonus points for those who get creative.

To continue our Plastic Free July Challange click here!