Virtual Coast Day to feature interactive elements Oct. 4

The Delaware Sea Grant College Program at the University of Delaware invites everyone to join the inaugural virtual Coast Day, with events set for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 4. Activities are designed to appeal to people interested in learning about coastal scientific research and how Sea Grant engages with the community in a meaningful way. 

Since 1976, Delaware Sea Grant and the University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean and Environment have held the event at the university’s Lewes campus, but this year, because of COVID-19, it will be held online. Coast Day will still feature a number of interactive elements, from at-home science demos to craft projects for families to complete and share on social media.

For more information about the projects and kits that can be picked up the week before the event, go to deseagrant.org/coastdaycreate.

Coast Day will also have presentations that follow two tracks: an exploration track and an investigation track. The exploration track is sponsored by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the investigation track is sponsored by the Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation.

The exploration track includes talks for families and teachers, follow-along activities, and information about possible career fields in marine science with topics such as Working on the Ocean; Pathways in Marine Science; and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Marine Science: A Perspective from the National Science Foundation.

The investigation track will highlight marine science research and ways people can get involved, with topics including Cleaning Up Ghost Pots in the Inland Bays; Oysters from Rehoboth Bay to Raw Bar; and Assessing Microplastics in the Delaware Bay.

Registration is required to attend sessions and see participants’ completed projects. To register, go to deseagrant.org/coast-day-registration.

The theme of Coast Day 2020 is Planet by Numbers, and the popular essay and photo contests follow this theme.

The fifth-grade essay contest asks participants to write about a virtual data set and what it shows, what trends they see, how scientists or communities could use the data, and what actions the student could take that would influence the data in the future.

The photo contest asks participants to take pictures of Delmarva’s natural landscape that feature sequenced, fractal or other numeric patterns, such as those observed in certain leaves, pine cones and plant structures; insect and animal anatomies; as well as other subjects.

To stay up to date on a list of speakers, go to deseagrant.org/coast-day.