environmental studies | Science Museum of Virginia

Day three: in the creek! posted by Steve Fenchell

The morning began with a quick dash for coffee at the local Starbucks. After some light conversation about our personal teaching positions we headed out at approximately 8:30 am. We met with Kaitlyn and Chris from the SCA at the National Park, for the second day, to continue our monitoring of the pristine streams found in Prince William County.

Submitted by Science Museum of Virginia on August 23, 2012

Day 4: Nature in the City

(Or, “another day, another macroinvertebrate”)

We loaded up and headed off deep into the wilds of… Alexandria.

Traffic wasn’t too bad! We made decent time getting to the Cameron Run, a 4th order stream in an industrial area with a LOT of human impacts. Think runoff and flooding, channelization, sewage and pollutants (ick.) But many of our fishies and bugs are resilient: even in these rather cruddy conditions, some organisms thrive.

Submitted by Science Museum of Virginia on August 23, 2012

Could the oil spill reach Virginia?

As officials make another attempt to cap the well spilling oil into the Gulf of Mexico, Virginians might be asking, “Could oil show up here?” As of now, it appears a large oil slick on Virginia waterways is unlikely, but oil residue in the form of tar balls could wash up on local beaches. How could oil that’s currently in the Gulf of Mexico end up in Virginia?

Submitted by Liz.Mebane on May 26, 2010

Why are we having so many earthquakes?

Another earthquake – this time in Turkey. Earthquakes are certainly in the news. Fortunately, earthquakes are not a frequent occurrence in Virginia, but they do happen. Do you remember the one on December 9, 2003? It measured 4.5 on the Richter scale; its epicenter was just south of the James River in Powhatan County. I remember it well; it was quite an experience!

Submitted by Liz.Mebane on March 8, 2010

Day Two:first day in the Field. Dana D'Agostino posting

Our first day in the field saw us piling into the caravan of vehicles, headed for Prince William Forest Park. We pulled off next to the stream and gathered our gear; waders, dip nets, pH meter, clipboards and the backpack electroshocker.

We trooped through the woods to our first test site; a third order stream. The weather was hot and humid, with a few clouds in the sky. We all made sure to cover ourselves with bug spray and sunscreen. Gene and his crew began our expedition by working downstream, shocking and collecting the fish.

Submitted by Science Museum of Virginia on August 11, 2009

Notes from Northern VA: Deborah and Terry reporting

A picture (or 5) really is worth a thousand words. Wish everyone could have seen the look on our faces when Dr. Maurakis (Gene) told us about the cautionary tales of those "brain eating amoeba" - Naegleria fowleri - that inhabit low level waters at temps of approx 78 degrees. Nice thoughts for our outing tomorrow and our introduction to electrofishing in Prince William Forest Park. Those pictures will certainly tell a story.

Submitted by Science Museum of Virginia on August 10, 2009