A newsletter from the Prince William Sound Science Center

January 10, 2024

Happy New Year! Things were pretty quiet at the office around the holidays, but the local ski hill was bustling! Many staff members and their families participated in the annual torchlight parade and firework show orchestrated by the Sheridan Alpine Association. Photo credit: PWSSC.

The CORaL Network is excited to host our annual five-week Community Coastal Experience this summer. This program is a paid opportunity for Alaskan adults over 18 to travel around the region and explore career and internship pathways in marine science, archaeology, cultural history, and other STEAM topics related to the coastal environment of Southcentral Alaska.

Participants will travel with program leaders between Kachemak Bay, Seward, Cordova, and Kodiak to participate in environmental monitoring, connect with local knowledge-bearers, attain job-related skills, and build relationships with science and community organizations that offer jobs and internships. Program participants will earn a stipend of $3000 for their time. All travel, lodging, and food will also be provided.

Anyone in the state of Alaska is eligible for this program. Applicants may consider applying with a friend or family member from their home community. More information and the application can be found here. Council members, community leaders, teachers, and mentors can nominate participants here.

The Community Coastal Experience will occur from June 3 - July 6, 2024.  Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until March 1, 2024.

Lunch Break - Cordova Boat Harbor, Alaska by Erin Ranney. 2016 photo contest winner.

PWSSC produces Field Notes, a three-to-five minute science program that’s aired on local public radio and available online. Since 2010, Field Notes has allowed us to reach a broader audience in Prince William Sound, the outlying areas in the upper Copper River Basin, and beyond, increasing our scope of connecting with our citizens.

Click here for our latest episode about sea otters with host Hayley Fleming.

Families investigating invertebrates in the Cordova harbor during our Creatures of the Dock community program. Photo credit: PWSSC

For Alaska residents, January 1 means it's time to file your Permanent Fund Dividend application. Dedicating a portion of your PFD through Pick.Click.Give. is a quick and easy way to support the Prince William Sound Science Center. Your contribution helps us offer year-round science and outdoor education programs that get kids out in nature to learn about their local ecosystems.

We hope you can join us this month for some educational fun! Different programs are intended for specific ages, as noted below. Younger participants need to be accompanied by a caregiver. All are welcome to attend. A current calendar of events can be found on our website. If you want to receive email notifications for upcoming community education programs, subscribe here.

January 16 (7-8 pm) Tuesday Night Talk: Mar ReCon

Lexa Meyer, a Mariculture Research and Restoration Consortium team member, will present her mariculture research. This talk will occur at the Cordova Center in the North Star Theatre. Open to the public.

January 19 (2:30-3:30 pm) Fun Friday: Snow

Dive into the science behind our winter wonderland. What does it take to make snow? Is it true that every snowflake is unique? How do avalanches occur? The intended audience is kids in grades K-4 and their caregivers.  

January 21 (7-8 pm) Nature Yoga: Flexible Flippers

Join Jess for a nature yoga session where we will learn about seals, sea lions, and walruses and what they can teach us about adaptability and transitions—geared toward adults.

January 22 (2-3 pm) Sea Squirts: Tinkergarten

If your child always asks questions and tries to take things apart, tinker away at the Science Center. Preschoolers can safely take apart small appliances, build creations, and practice their fine motor skills with tools. We will hammer and wrench our way to discovery! The intended audience is kids aged 3-5 and their caregivers.

January 23 (7-8 pm) Tuesday Night Talk: Anna's Hummingbird

Kate McLaughlin of Prince William Sound Audubon and the Alaska Hummingbird Project will present on Anna's Hummingbird, the winter hummingbird in Alaska. Open to the public.

January 30 (7-8 pm) Tuesday Night Talk: The L Pod

Mr. Westing's marine science class students from Cordova Jr./Sr. High School will be presenting on southern Alaska resident killer whales, the L pod, and how they are being affected by environmental factors. Open to the public.

A fourth grader experimenting with hydropower during Discovery Room. Photo credit: PWSSC.

We capped off the year in true PWSSC fashion by spreading the joy of science with our Cordova community!

Sea Squirts explored three different ways that animals survive the winter. Preschoolers played migration tag, built a den to hibernate, and decorated a camouflage snowshoe hare.

Little Dippers spent some of their time inside due to very stormy weather and outside on nicer days, exploring the world around them.

Fun Friday got messy with kitchen chemistry. Kids explored concepts such as pH, non-Newtonian fluids, and chemical reactions through experiments with simple kitchen ingredients.

Tuesday Night Talks from December can be viewed on our YouTube channel.

• Kelp! I Need Some Algae was presented by Tamsen Peeples of UAF.
• Christmas Bird Count, presented by Milo Burcham of Audubon, got Cordova ready to participate in the mid-December event. (No recording available.)

Before school went on winter break, we shared science in the classroom through Discovery Room:

• Kindergarteners learned how snow is formed and how to make snowflakes.
• First graders experimented with how sound is used to communicate across long distances.
• Third-graders participated in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count! They also discovered adaptations of eggs.
• Fourth graders used teamwork, STEM skills, and a lot of trial and error to create 4 volts of electricity with a hydro turbine.
• Fifth graders replicated the El Niño in the classroom as they explored the connection between the atmosphere and hydrosphere. Dr. Rob Campbell visited the class to share his work as an oceanographer and explain the PWSSC weather buoys.
• Sixth graders engaged in the marshmallow challenge, where they learned the importance of teamwork and testing your designs as you go.