The first Day!

---

We met Matthew Woodside and Jeff Rodgers about the overview of the internship today. We got to touch Snooty! I was afraid to touch his skin because it looked like parts were ruffled up like it was coming off. His snout has bristles on them that were a bit scary, but it just felt like rubber bristles. He has a triangle shaped body because his musculature, from pulling himself up on the side of his pools. Turns out he lived in really shallow water for the first part of his life. Fortunately, he was able to get the big deep aquarium on the second floor, but he apparently didn’t like it right away. He needs the shallow ends that surround the feeding area to ease into the pool. Also, he is the only manatee that can be fed by hand. The rest get their salad by having it thrown in. “The rest” are actually rescues. Their names are epac and Charlie. Epac has scars on his back from a rotor from a boat accident –their mom died from it. In addition to seeing the aquarium, we got to see the rest of the museum; it is like a cornucopia of things ranging from dinosaurs to photography. The effort is to encourage the scientific mind via presenting the holistic picture of science, nature, culture, and systems. It is an effort that I am wholeheartedly behind.

Some of the things we will be working on are the informational panels for exhibits such as the river wall and walk. Within the river walk is a bio swale – I hope to have one for my future castle! We are to think of things in the broader sense. Everything is connected and that is the take-home message.

OH! I almost forgot about Bill Clendenen the accountant who was supposed to be a naturalist! I hope to have the level of organization that he possessed. It’s phenomenal. I cannot believe the magnitude of skill he had for meticulously arrange and classify his hobby of collecting shells. There were so many!

Doug’s Kayaks is a name that we should remember; Jeff Rodgers set up free kayak rides for us this summer. I can’t wait to take all the field trips that we have in store. Also, they took us out to a really nice place called pier22. Note to self: don’t shove edamame in your mouth. It’s outside isn’t eaten. Anywhoodle, I’ll be looking up SWIFT mud, Kissimmi river resoration and the spring and aquifer systems and calling it a night after this. Over and out-

---