A Whirlwind of Fun

I had no idea I was in for such a spectacular week at Blacks Creek. It was absolutely gorgeous out and the area is beautiful. I found a molt of a crab in the marsh area and it was in perfect condition to show everybody. The kids here seemed very interested in how a crab molts and how in the world a crab could possibly pull of his legs out of the shell.

We noticed that there is a crack in the back of the crab’s shell where the crab crawled out backwards. Then we opened up the crab molt to examine what the inside of a crab looked like. It was a learning experience for everyone, including myself.

Also this week, I taught the kids here how to use a guidebook with all of the species of organisms we can find around Boston Harbor. Many approached me with different types of seaweed and asked what it was. Since I didn’t know myself, I reached for the guide book and had the kids help me figure out what it was. We found

rockweed, sea lettuce, and many other types of seaweed. We also looked at different types of crabs and correctly identified a green crab by using the book. I’m very proud of everyone who worked with because they picked up a great skill so well.

While showing a few kids how to look up a crab in the guide book, a sailing instructor from Blacks Creek showed up with a huge blue fish! Everyone huddled around with excitement and admired the size of the fish. Sadly, the fish was on it’s last minutes of life when it was found and couldn’t be revived even after trying to coax it back to life in the water. When declared dead, we carefully wrapped the fish in trash bags and brought it with us to Camp Harborview. When we got to Camp Harborview, I showed the campers there some of the outer anatomy of a fish and pointed out where the lateral line was. Then Scott and I filleted it beautifully and assisted the campers with baiting the hooks. This was definitely my favorite moment this week, and will be a huge highlight for my summer.

Annie