GUESS THE ANIMAL!!
Worlds Oceans Day inspired us to take the E&E submarine out and explore the vast big blue! We decided to hit up the Gulf of Mexico this week and see what animals we could find! Today’s Guess the Animal is a big one! Read the clues and let us know who you think it is!
WHO IS IT?
WORLD’S OCEANS DAY- TRASH!!
Today we’re talking trash! That’s right- we’re talking about the trash that you humans throw into our oceans! It’s World’s Oceans Day today! We want to celebrate the giant wonderful habitat that covers 70% of our precious planet! The great vast oceans are home to many beautiful, amazing, wild and alien creatures; many of whom have yet to be discovered. Our oceans produce most of the oxygen that we all breath- animals and humans alike!
It’s time we all learn to appreciate and love the oceans and the creatures that live there! Unfortunately, our oceans have become a place to leave trash :(. This trash affects not just the animals, but humans too. So this World’s Oceans Day we’re sharing some trash facts from the Ocean Conservancy and ways you can help! Plus we have a great coloring sheet for you! Remember, we all share this great planet and it’s our responsibility to keep it clean!
Did you hear the story about the 19 year old who has figured out how to get rid of our oceans’ trash? Read it here!
Finally- print and color and share this message with everyone you know!
We all have to work together to Keep Our Oceans Clean!!!
NUDIBRANCHS WE LOVE YOU!
Today we are celebrating the most amazing of creatures- Nudibranchs (NEW-dih-bronk) ! These colorful and crazy sea slugs are some of the coral reefs neatest inhabitants! Come learn some fun facts about nudibranchs and make one of your own!
FUN FACTS:
We could look at nudibranchs all day! Who knew such alien looking creatures existed? We made one out of clay! Come learn how you can make your very own nudibranch too!
WORLD PENGUIN DAY!
Happy World Penguin Day! We’re celebrating our favorite flightless ocean going birds today with some great fun facts!
Penguins sneeze out excess salt!
All penguins live in the southern hemisphere!
Gentoo penguins can swim up to 22 mph! The fastest swimmers amongst all penguins!
The oldest penguin fossil was found in New Zealand. It was 62 million years old.
Penguins do have knees :)!
Day #34- Sand dollars
We decided go snorkeling after spending the day at the sea shore. We wanted to see if we could find sand dollars in the ocean and not just their exoskeletons on the beach! And goodness, we were so excited to see real live sand dollars! We bet most people don’t know that they’re animals even! We learned so much about these invertebrates!
Their range and habitat: sandy floors, oceans in the Northern Hemisphere
Their length: up to 3″ Their status: Common
They are omnivores- crustaceans, copepods, algae
We found this great video (it’s not in English) of a sand dollar eating copepods! You can see the little feet push food towards it mouth! Did you know that a sand dollar’s bum in on the top? How cool is that? Remember when you visit the beach that it’s better to leave the live sand dollars there. If you find a white exoskeleton, then consider yourself lucky! 
Day #34 (4/15/14) – Guess the Animal
We decided to spend a few days at the seashore. We love to sit on the beach and watch for birds and crabs. We took a long walk to search for sand dollars and sea shells. We always leave them where we find them. We must learn more about shells and the creatures that live in them. We laughed watching today’s guess the animal run around on the sand and chase the waves!
• They live by seashores.
• They have long thing beaks.
• They are many different species of these birds.
Who is it?
-Ellie and Edmond
Down by the Seashore
We were so excited to spend a few days down by sea shore! We saw so many wonderful creatures on the beach and swimming in the water! We drew this coloring sheet for you! Can you tell us who the creatures are? (answers below)
(a. sandpiper, b.scallop shell, c. ghost crab, d. sand dollar, e. chestnut turban)
We’ll be spotlighting some of these creatures in the next few days! Do you like to look for animals on the beach? What’s your favorite seashore animal?
Day #33 (4/10/2014) Giant California Sea Cucumber
We had a great time watching the sea lions yesterday. We noticed as we sitting on the cliffs though, these great little tide pools! We decided to go and explore them. These pools were full of amazing creatures, sea stars, anemones and sea cucumbers! We were especially fascinated by the sea cucumber we saw!
Their range/habitat: Gulf of Alaska to Southern California/coast- intertidal zones
Their length: up to 19 ½” Conservation Status: common
Their diet: Omnivore: plankton
• Giant California sea cucumbers are echinoderms.
• They do have an exoskeleton below their skin.
• Giant California sea cucumbers have tube feet on the bottom of their body.
• Giant California sea cucumbers have tentacles around their mouth to help them bring in food.
• They are nocturnal.
• Giant California sea cucumbers can regenerate all parts of their bodies.
• They expel the contents of their stomachs when threatened.
Echinoderms are just crazy and amazing animals. We must learn much more about them. Their regenerative abilities are out of this world. It’s like a super power! What animal super power do you wish you had?
-Ellie and Edmond
WHO’S THE STAR? SEA STARS ARE!
Over our spring break we were checking out some great facts about one of our favorite animals the Sea Star! The crazy looking echinoderms come in all shapes, sizes and colors! We thought you might like to learn more about these stars of the sea too! Make sure you scroll down to the bottom- because you can make your very own sea star!
SEA STAR FUN FACTS:
Want you very own sea star? Make our sea star bean bag!
MANATEE APPRECIATION DAY!!
It’s Manatee Appreciation Day! We love these gentle marine mammals! We have visited them in places in Florida before. We’re going to share some fun facts about the fabulous animals and a great craft you can make too!
Manatees are endangered due to things like boat strikes and pollution (they get caught in fishing nets). Many people are working to protect these beautiful gentle giants. A great way to help them- Never put trash in the ocean or rivers! Human’s pollution is devastating on our wild animal friends. Also check out Save the Manatee Club– they work very hard to protect manatees!
You can also make our great manatee bookmark and share your love of these animals with your friends! The more we understand and love a species the more we will work to save them!
The Adventures of Ellie and Edmond 