Come Together

By Chason Ford

In March, the ambassadors of Outdoor Family Adventures will launch the first class in their new aquatic and wildlife classroom. Our ambassadors have spent the last few weeks assisting Rusty Davidson, Director of Compass Ministries, in preparation for this exciting initiative. This past Monday, Rusty and I spent the day cleaning, repairing, and setting up tanks for our animals, along with preparing the materials that will be utilized in teaching others.  Our ambassadors are thrilled to begin our classes and to see this project come together.

                       

One of the turtles that will be in our exhibit, starting in March.                                 

Reptile Expo

Mobile, Alabama

February 20th and 21st 2010
Mobile Civic Center

Want to invite everyone out to Mobile and the great Reptile Expo.

9 A.M.- 4 P.M.
If you Purchase your tickets in advance you will recieve a Discount
1 Day Ticket
Adults $5.00
Children Under 12 $1.00
Children 5 and Under Free!!!!
2 Day Ticket
Adults $8.00
Children Under 12 $2.00
Children 5 and Under Free


Trading




Customers will be allowed to bring animals to Trade. Customers are only allowed to bring 2 animals to the show with them to Trade. If more than 2 animals are brought to the show by an individual then they must pay $5.00 for every extra animal..



If you do bring something to trade you must keep the animal under control at all times. You are held responsible for any animals you bring to the show. Do not bring animals with the intent of selling them. Only Vendors will be allowed to sell

Have fun and check out the site  http://www.gulfcoastreptileexpo.com/

Estuary Exploration

By Joshua Hunt

Students of Outdoor Family Adventures had an amazing experience in the shallow waters of Dauphin Island's Estuaries. Their time there included studies like testing the amount of salinity in the estuary water, learning to identify the different types of swamp marsh snails, and using seine nets¹ the catch and observe the local estuary wildlife.



An Estuary is a body of water partly surrounded by land where fresh water from rivers and streams mix with salt water from the ocean. Along with other coastal waters, they provide about 75% of commercial fish catch. They are also an excellent " nursing ground " habitat for young and vulnerable fish.


The student's enjoyed exploring the natural and beautiful habitat we are surrounded by. The wonderful day of enlightenment was finished off with a nice meal in the Dauphin Island Sea Lab cafeteria.

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¹A large fishing net made to hang vertically in the water by weights at the lower edge and floats at the top.

Pieces of The Puzzle

By Chason Ford

If you have ever worked on a puzzle before, you know that it takes time. For the last couple of weeks, our Ambassadors have been working on completing our very own puzzle. It began with four white walls and hard wood floor, and it was our job to turn this ordinary room into a wildlife and aquatic paradise. 

After several trips to Camp Baldwin, where the classroom is located, we have successfully managed to fit the majority of the pieces together, by cleaning, painting, organizing, and building. 

This past Monday, I contributed by building table supports and shelves with the help of Rusty Davidson, one of the leaders of Compass Ministries and director of our project.

After many hours, we finally finished two of our tables. These tables will be used for exhibits and to hold materials that will be needed to run the classroom. 

Sometimes puzzles take time to put together, but at the end of the day, the masterpiece is worth the time and effort. In the next couple of months, our Ambassadors will be teaching about wildlife and aquatic environments to children in surrounding schools.

The Absolute

By Blake Dawson

So you think your cold? You may feel cold on the outside, but your core temperature is still 98.6 degrees Farenheit. Unless of course you are suffering from hypothermia.

When objects are hot, such as a frying pan on a burner, the molecules inside are moving very rapidly. On the other hand, in cold objects, such as ice, the molecules inside tend to move more slowly.

At Absolute Zero, (0 degrees on the Kelvin scale, -273 degrees on Celsius and -459 degrees on Farenheit) the molecules in an object are at an almost complete stop.

So next time before you say, "I'm freezing!" just think about the Absolute.

How would you like to have 126 children?

By Morgan Dawson


How would you like to live to be more than a hundred years old? Or have 126 children? I don't know any person who has experienced this, but if we examine the life of the Loggerhead turtle, they might be able to answer these questions. Loggerhead turtles can live up to hundreds of years old and sometimes even thousands! The mothers can lay up to 126 eggs, but only a few of them make it to adulthood because of predators like larger fish, raccoons, and seabirds find the eggs. The Loggerhead turtle buries their eggs from 12 inches to 16 inches deep. The eggs resemble ping pong balls.

As the turtles begin to hatch, they climb their way to just below the surface. There they wait until cooler temperatures signal nightfall so they can make their way to the surface. Then, they head toward the brightest light which is usually the moon reflecting off the sea. Unfortunately, many become disoriented because of lights from houses and stores and head toward them, rather than the sea.

Baby sea turtles swim around the ocean for their entire lifetime until they are fully grown. When the females mate they come back to that exact same beach and lay their eggs.

The 13th Annual Bird Count !!

by Angela Ballard

This is a four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent and in Hawaii. Anyone can participate, so sign up and document the birds you see around your home.

here is a great link to visit for the bird watching fans.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/

Ambassadors work on Classroom

by Angela Ballard

Our ambassadors have been given the opportunity to study their choice of outdoor activities and focus all of the projects they want to do with it on their own. They will be acting as guides during an internship that the students have been given with an outdoor facility.

You can see the ambassadors at work in the building where they will conduct class time for visiting students. They have been painting and preparing the room with the required materials and books that they will use for teaching the classes.

The ambassadors have really enjoyed training for the upcoming activities they will be hosting.

Nest Spotting

Students spot an Osprey's nest, among other great discoveries in Estuary outing.