Does taking 6 days off and visiting Seacamp in the Florida keys to snorkel and perform science experiments sound appealing to you? Recently, 70 plus Marine Biology students and 7 staff chaperones traveled to Big Pine Key to do just that. Students and staff spent 4 nights at the camp, as well as 2 nights in hotels in Florida before and after the days at Seacamp. Snorkeling, handling sea urchins, and experimenting on a species of jellyfish are just a few of the activities students got to experience at Seacamp. Staff also got to participate in activities and enjoy themselves in they Keys. As well as learning a lot, students got a taste of college life by rooming with their friends. With 4-10 students per room, cooperating with your roommates was very important. Spencer Hosking told me about his room experience at Seacamp. “My roommates were cool, we kept the room clean, woke each other up on time, and rationed the food we bought. We considered the room a commune which we had to all take care of, and help each other out.”

On the first day after arriving in Florida and getting a short restful night, students woke up bright and early to visit the Everglades National Park. Students got to experience the beautiful, diverse ecosystems of Florida, including fish, frogs, turtles, and even an alligator fight. And some students came to the realisation that Florida’s mosquitos were nothing to mess with. “I got maybe a dozen mosquito bites, they were swarming me the whole time we were in the (Everglades) park.” Students then visited a dolphin rescue center as well as a sea turtle hospital. “The dolphins were cool and did a lot of tricks, the turtles were cool too but all looked sick which was sort of rank,” said Hosking. 

After 4 days full of work at Seacamp, students got to relax on the last day with a trip to the Dolphin Mall west of Miami. “On the last day, we went to this massive mall with all kinds of shops and restaurants. That last night, we stayed in a really nice Marriott hotel, which was nice after being in the non air conditioned camp rooms and sharing a bathroom.” Overall, many students took the trip as both a fun and learning experience. “I learned a lot about marine life that I didn’t know before, and also applied a lot of what I learned in class, especially identification skills.”Some students had favorite and least favorite activities. “My favorite activity was definitely the snorkeling, it was nice water with a lot to see. My least favorite was probably sharing the bathroom. But, I can’t say I had a least favorite actual activity, they were all cool.”