Science in the Summer

Learning doesn’t have to stop, just because summer is here. This summer we are working on a hands-on science project. We have volunteered with the Fairbanks Fish & Wildlife Department, and are assisting in a study.

The study looks at what species of fish are spending time in the Chena River, and what areas of shoreline they are spending that time at – whether it is disturbed areas or undisturbed areas. The study will go on all summer, to determine which species are moving through when.

Each week, we go out and set fish traps. They are baited with frozen chunks of salmon eggs.

Preparing the traps.

This morning, Jack caught a baby without the use of a trap. We didn’t get a good look at it, but we are pretty sure it was a baby Grayling.

The traps “soak” for 24 hours, and the next day we go out to see if and what we caught. We use buckets to hold the fish, then we identify the species and measure their size using two different tools – whichever one works better.

Here, Joshua was measuring a Slimy Sculpin.

This was a baby Chinook Salmon.

We are enjoying going out and helping with this study. Fresh air and sunshine, and science to boot! There are a couple other things we do with this study…but I will save that for next week.