Dynatrekkin'

Come along with us!

Day 77 / March 8, 2024

Posted by

Ember Hutton

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We had a busy morning of visiting with our Neighbor Dave from back home (chatting outside together was just like old times on Sherman Rd!) and saying “see you down the road” to new friends.

Collecting grandparents across the country like it’s their job. 👵🏻 👴🏻
After a morning of schoolwork and socializing, the kids and I were off for another bike ride. Today, however, we had a destination to get to – the Interpretive Center.
Glad that Elleny was along to be Adler’s bike mechanic!
When I looked at the Gulf State Park activity calendar and saw that we’d be there during their monthly homeschool class – I signed the kids right up.
When I told the kids that the class was a squid dissection there was a wide range of reactions. 😂
Adler was absolutely THRILLED to be doing a real dissection.
The instructor was fantastic and talked the kids through the process. First, they counted the eight tentacles and two longer arms (all with suckers) used for catching their prey.
Next, they looked for the mouth and removed it to examine closer. Squid actually have a mass that looks a lot like a parrot’s beak which they use it to chomp up small fish and crustaceans. Yum yum!
Next, it was time to cut the squid open along the mantle to see what was inside. They were able to locate the stomach (and see what it’s last meal was), gills, reproductive organs, and ink sac.
The most interesting part of the process was when the instructor asked the students what gives the squid their shape…
Allow me to present to you the pen! The pen is what gives the squid’s body rigidity despite not having any bones. The pen is clear and almost plastic-y feeling. You might see where this is headed…
Exactly! The instructor had the students puncture the ink sac and use the pen to draw. Literally an ink pen.
Now that’s a cool science lesson! 🧑🏻‍🔬
Finally the kids headed to the beach to learn about sea turtles and participate in a mock egg extraction from a pretend sea turtle nest. It was also very interesting and certainly unlike any science lessons that we would have been doing at home in Wisconsin today!

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About the author

Hi! I’m Ember and I love traveling and photography but not so much organizing said adventures and pictures. Chronically blogging in past tense. :)

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