School Presentations
The spring of 1999 found the CORE staff visiting a wide variety of schools and even a science fair to provide students and educators insight into the lives of whales. Our travels took us from Lexington, Kentucky to Middleburgh, New York, and to several schools in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Most of the presentations involved slide shows and exhibits of whale bones, baleen and teeth to wide-eyed students. For certain lucky students who had space large enough, we brought along something very special - a life-size inflatable whale!
With the help of the members of the Salem State College Biological Society, CORE constructed a life-size inflatable fin whale. The whale, made primarily of clear plastic sheets and tape, is a wonderful visual aid. It brings home the fact that whales are not only big, they’re really big! The whale is constructed with a door (that’s right, a whale with a door), so that students can go inside the whale to really get a sense of the immensity of whales. Our whale has eyes, blowholes and flippers – and it’s built in an anatomically correct fashion. The instructions on how to build your own whale are available on an educational internet site called WhaleNet. Their web site address is: http://whale.wheelock.edu
For the first time, CORE visited with several pre-school classes. We sincerely enjoyed the participation and intelligence of these young students. A most memorable quote came from a preschooler at the Montessori School in Beverly, MA:
As Josh Miller, CORE Assistant Director, and I had just begun talking about the different kinds of whales, several students raised their hands to offer their own whale experiences. As we heard from each student, it was apparent that these children were very interested in whales and really wanted to tell their stories. I finally called on one boy to share his thoughts. He had had his hand raised enthusiastically for about six or eight minutes. His important story? He exclaimed, with a big smile on his face, "I’ve got new shoes!"
We hope that the students enjoyed our visits as much as we did!
If you would like us to come to your school for a visit, or would like information on our school presentations, please feel free to email us at core@coreresearch.org