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School Groups — Programs & Tours

The Bonne Bay Marine Station offers a variety of programs and tours for students, and school groups. Students will explore marine life, use scientific equipment to sample seawater, and collect creatures found in the ocean.

Discovery Tour

Enrichment Programs

 


'Discovery Tours' — for School Groups & Students

In partnership with BonTours, we invite school groups to explore the marine life that exists beneath the deep, cold waters of beautiful Bonne Bay. A boat tour of the central part of the bay will give students hands on contact with the marine environment. Students will use scientific equipment to sample seawater, and collect some of the smallest creatures found in the ocean. Then it's back to the marine station, (located dockside) for a closer look at some of the larger organisms living beneath the waves.

Students will:
• Take a "Discovery Tour" of
   Bonne Bay fjord, lucky students
   may observe whales and bald
   eagles
• Sample the properties of seawater
• Collect fragile marine plankton,
  and learn about marine food webs
• Take a guided tour of the
   Bonne Bay Marine Station
• Observe deep water marine life
   in the stations aquaria
• Get their hands wet among the
  rocky shore creatures living in our
  touch tank
• Learn the importance of marine research

Departure Times:
Morning and afternoon tours, commencing May 22nd, 2010.

Cost:

Number of Students Departure Location 2010 Rates
Up To 40 Students  from dock in Norris Point $400 (HST included)
Up To 40 Students  from dock in Woody Point $450 (HST included)

Location:
Norris Point Waterfront

Reservations:
Contact the Manager at 458-2550 or allison.eaton@mun.ca.

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Enrichment Programs:

Our Salty Surroundings - The Marine Ecology of Bonne Bay
The Western School District offers an exciting program of enrichment mini courses to students in junior high school. Courses involve small groups of students in a variety of 'hands-on' activities in different fields of study. These courses provide exciting learning experiences that will enable students to explore new areas or pursue certain topics in greater depth and breadth than the prescribed curriculum provides.

Discover the world of a Marine Biologist! Our Salty Surroundings - The Marine Ecology of Bonne Bay is designed to help students develop a deeper understanding of the marine environment around them. Students will become marine biologists, using the Bonne Bay Marine Station as their base of operations. There will be a half-day field trip to Lobster Cove Head to explore tide-pools and a boat trip in beautiful Bonne Bay to gather oceanographic and biological samples. Students will use a variety of oceanographic and biological sampling equipment to examine the properties of seawater, understand the importance of plankton, and explore different marine habitats.

Partners: Western School District & Bonne Bay Marine Station

Contacts: Terry Pike, Itinerant: Enrichment, Western School District


Peel Summer Academy -
Newfoundland Peel Summer Academy is a unique residential program for intellectually gifted students. Programs are offered by the Centre for Education & Training, Peel District School Board.

Peel Summer Academy's Newfoundland leadership program provides students in their last year at PSA with a wonderful opportunity to visit Newfoundland, to experience the special hospitality of our hosts at the Division of Community Education & College Relations, Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in Corner Brook, and to travel up the west coast of the province to the Bonne Bay Marine Station and one of Newfoundland's special treasures, Gros Morne National Park. As a bonus, the leadership program provides valuable personal development, particularly for those who might want to become counselors at PSA in future years.

This program offers fresh, engaging experiences where students develop skills or discover new ones through lectures, cultural excursions, hands-on, practical experiences and out-of-the-ordinary entertainment. Surrounded by the wonder and beauty of western Newfoundland's diverse landscape, this Peel program will stimulate senses, encourage creativity and satisfy a quest for "something different."

For further information contact Marnie Beaver, Administrative Support, Peel Summer Academy.

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Trading Books for Boats in Bonne Bay — Engage, Explore, Educate & Enjoy
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), Atlantic Coastal Action Plan (ACAP) Humber Arm and the Western School District support a unique science program for grade 9 students called Trading Books for Boats. In 2005 a pilot program, Trading Books for Boats in Bonne Bay was offered to students in the Bonne Bay area and Gulf of St. Lawrence. The intent of the program is to provide students with a greater understanding and appreciation for water quality. This topic is an important component of the grade 9 science curriculum.

Program Outcome
Trading Books for Boats in Bonne Bay is an experiential program that takes place at Memorial University.s Bonne Bay Marine Station in Norris Point. The program is designed to cover the length of a school day, starting with a presentation (here) in the theater on water quality. Each class was then split in half, with one group of students being directed to a charter boat for an exploration of Bonne Bay, The other group remains in the marine station to complete a series of learning stations. Student groups are reversed for the afternoon session. All students gather for a wrap-up and feedback session at the end of the day.

The marine sampling component takes place aboard Bon Tours water taxi the `MV Bon Tours'. The boat leaves the dock beside the marine station. Students learn about the formation of Bonne Bay, and how to read a marine chart. Measurements taken include salinity, dissolved oxygen and temperature (at two water depths), and turbidity. Students also collect live plankton for observation under the microscope. Data is recorded and will be entered into a spreadsheet made available to all schools through the Bonne Bay Marine Station website.

Click here for data collected in 2005.
Click here for data collected in 2006.

Click here for data collected in 2008.

Students in the Marine Station rotate through several learning stations covering topics such as oil spills, wastewater treatment, plankton, marine debris, and coastal activities. They read charts, examine diagrams, conduct experiments, and answer workbook questions pertaining to each topic. Most of the stations contain a hands-on component with interactive experiments.

Partners:
Western School District, Bonne Bay Marine Station Memorial University, Community-University Research for Recovery Alliance(CURRA), BonTours, Red Ochre Development Board Inc. - Intergrated Coastal Zone Management Steering Committee, ACAP Humber Arm Environmental Association Inc., Gros Morne Co-operating Association and Department of Fisheries and Oceans.