Dear Ms. Winterbottom,

I had a great time at the Isles of Shoals on Tuesday. On the boat there I saw lots of different fish and even a seal! When I first arrived I got a quick tour of the buildings, then I helped Kipp Quinby and Kevin Jerram with unloading a dead porpoise and seal off of the boat and into a vehicle to be later disected. Kipp let me drive, what was called a Gator, along the trails to one of the labs. After that I helped some of the staff with washing microscope covers because they needed help with getting everything ready for the end of the season. Everyone was very nice and helpful when I asked them questions.

I was also given the privelege of participating in the Marine Immersion course, which is originally for incoming college freshmen. There was a tidepool tank in the PK lab, where the course was taking place, and I got to identify some of the species of marine life in the tank. Another tank held six baby spiny dogfish sharks; their mother was hooked badly and dying when she was brought to the tank and gave birth to the sharks unexpectingly. After I identified some of the marine life, a group of the kids went down to one of the tidepool areas and we got to catch crabs and see whether they were male or female. You could tell by their belly and whether they had a triangle or a square. Some of the crabs were even pregnant! So that was interesting to see. I also caught some sea urchins and sea stars along with some different kinds of snails.

I was also given some time for myself to explore the island, so Dad and I went up to see Celia Thaxter's Garden, which even has some of her original flowers. We also took a trail and saw where they band some of the birds, and the giant wind tower. Overall, it was a very eventful trip and I had lots of fun while learning so much! 

Thanks again for setting this up for me.

~Jessica